Healer's Wounds
by pearls-and-crystal-blues
Summary: AU:Ron is a well-respected healer. While he's married to his beloved Mione, he once got drunk and cheated on her.Can he find the courage to tell her the truth or he'd to live,drawn by his guilt? *better sum. inside*
1. The Blow

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone!I hope you'll like the story and I'm sorry for any kind of mistakes, but I'm not a native english speaker- I'd appreciate it, though if you mentioned me some of them.

Ok, then, a short summary is needed I suppose, 'cause this is an AU: Ron works at St. Mungo's Hospital as a Healer, while Hermione, his wife, works at the Ministry of Magic. One night, Ron goes at a kind of meeting, gets really drunk and had sex with a stranger woman. Now, is Ron able to let this mistake be known to his wife, or he let it poison him for the rest of his life?

I would love to know your opinion about this story by reviewing it. I would appreciate it greatly! :)

Now, I'll let you read... Enjoy!

_Healer's Wound_

_~The Blow~_

Ron Weasley groaned slightly when he heard the clock on his nightstand saying noisily: "Wake up! It's time to start your day, sleepyhead!"

"Fine, I heard you, you noisy thing!" he groaned a bit louder. He sighed audibly for a second, before stretching his long, bare arms and then his legs hit the floor.

After showering, shaving and dressing up, he went out of the bedroom and headed straight to the kitchen. He smelled immediately various, delicious smells and he wondered what his lovely wife was up to. When he went inside, he instantly took a glimpse of Hermione and a smile came up to his face. He went silently towards her (she was with her back facing him next to the counter, putting syrup on a pile of pancakes) and put his arms around her waist from behind. Her reaction was immediate and the usual, of course: she gasped and jumped from the momentary fear.

"Ron!" she cried out from annoyance but she also smiled warmly afterwards "You _really_ scared me! I might as well have had a heart attack!"

"And what I'm here for, eh?" he teased lightly and laughed softly before kissing the corner of her mouth and resting his chin on her shoulder "What are you doing here, sweetie?"

"I made some pancakes; I thought you should have a good, nutritious breakfast before going at work. I don't forget the other day, when you were in such hurry that you didn't even touch your breakfast and then, you didn't eat there at all either; you almost faded when you came back here that night. You know, honey that I don't want you to be worn out…" she whimpered at her last sentence and Ron slightly remembered his mother.

"So, you don't want me to be worn out, but I'm quite sure this really hadn't even passed your mind last night, had it?" he kept on his teasing and for that, he received a gasp and a light hit on his chest from his wife. He laughed heartily.

"I didn't hear you complaining yesterday!" she exclaimed, trying to sound offended but failing miserably. They sat next to the table and started eating their pancakes and drinking their coffee. Occasionally, they would kiss each other and whisper loving words at each other's ears. Suddenly, Ron glanced at his watch and gasped softly.

"I should probably go, otherwise I'll be late!" he said hurriedly and after shoving another spoonful of pancakes and a sip of coffee in his mouth, he stood up, put on his rather formal robes, took his paper-case and leaned down to his wife.

"I'll see you tonight, ok?" he said in a loving way and pecked her lips softly. She smiled up to him and she received another feather kiss. Then, he smiled too. "I've to go, darling. I'll be thinking of you…"

"I'll be thinking of you, too, as I'll be filling out all these Ministry forms…" They laughed lightly.

"Love you, sweetie" he whispered and a twinkle appeared at the depths of his crystal blue eyes. She beamed at him lovingly.

"Have a nice day, love" she said as he was heading towards the fireplace at the living room.

"Have a wonderful day too, Mione. See you." He said finally before he shouted 'St. Mungo's Hospital!' and went through the green flames.

When he reached with quick steps his destination, he wished Sarah, his secretary, 'good morning' and stepped inside his quite large office. He sighed happily when his eyes looked with satisfaction at the room where _he _did his job, from where he helped loads of people be healthy again, regain lost hope for life, be happy and whole again. Yes, Healer Ron Weasley was very good at his job –even though he called it his true vocation- and that's that mattered to him.

He sat down on his leather chair and took a glance of his paperwork that was waiting for him on his desk. He took a deep breath and started to fill out the various forms there were there. He was so concentrated on his job that he didn't notice it was lunchtime. He only looked up from his paperwork when he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Come in" he said and waited with a bit of curiosity to see who was on the other side of the wall. The door opened and a colleague of his, Healer Alfred Green, appeared.

"Ron, what the heck are you still doing here?" he exclaimed loudly.

"What do you mean- -"he seemed annoyed for the interruption and looked at his watch "Sweet Merlin! Is it already time for the lunch break?" he said totally surprised now.

"What happened, Weasley? Another day you completely forgot about _your_ needs?" he teased and laughed. Ron rolled his eyes and smirked, while he was standing up and followed his co-worker outside his office, before locking it.

"Well, you know how much I love doing that. I just forget about anything else. Jesus, I even forget about Hermione sometimes!"

"Ok now, you have to work on that!" Alfred said and both of them laughed "But keeping on working at _this pace _all the time non-stop will cause you to be the _one _who would need a healer."

"Oh, just stop nagging already, alright?" Ron sighed; he was slightly tired from all the warnings he got every day about his obsession with his work.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop!" Alfred said defensively. They walked for some moments in silence until Alfred spoke again. "You know, Tobias and I organized a kind of meeting at my place for tonight. There will be some really successful and well-respected healers from all over the world, such as Leopold Skimmer and Peter Tyson, you know…"

"_Leopold Skimmer?" _Ron cried out with his eyes almost out of his sockets "You probably kidding me! I can't believe you're going to meet _Leopold Skimmer _and discuss with him about his discovery on the most effective cancer-scanning spells! Oh, Merlin!"

"And you're going to be here too, Ronald Weasley…" Alfred said and waited with an almost invisible smile across his face for the redhead's reaction to the statement.

Ron didn't seem to understand the words at first. "You're so lucky, I mean he was the one- -" But his sentence left unfinished as his eyes were wide again and he stopped dead in his tracks. "W-What have you just said, Alfred?" he said cautiously.

"What are you referring to?" the man next to the red-haired seemed to want some extra teasing for his colleague. "Oh, are you talking about the invitation I've just given to you?"

"Are you serious? You're letting me to come here and- and… Leopold Skimmer… and..." Ron seemed to be at complete loss of words and after a few seconds he looked at Alfred with his eyes shining with childish hope.

"_Please…_ tell me you're not joking…" he kept on with a childish tone on his voice now, like he was expecting Christmas to be sooner. Alfred shook with laughter as he was talking.

"Don't worry, little boy, Father Christmas will bring you your present this year as well" he joked and Ron immediately lost his dreamy look and glared at him warningly.

"Tell. Me. Now." he whispered and shot him another warning look. Alfred half-raised his arms in defense.

"Ok, mister, calm down, I'll tell you! Of course I'm not joking- you're one of the best healers Britain has ever had! There is absolutely no way to be uninvited!"

Ron seemed now full of enthusiasm. "That's awesome! I just can't believe it!" He remained speechless for a few more minutes as they were entering the hospital's canteen. "When did you say this meeting's up?"

"At seven o' clock today. You can come after work."

"Shouldn't I wear something more formal?" Ron asked Alfred with slight uncertainty.

"There is no need actually; most of the healers there would be in their uniforms, so we could understand from which hospital they are." Alfred's reply came instantly. Ron nodded.

"Ok then, I'll send a letter to Hermione explaining her and I'll come. Thanks Alfred for giving me this opportunity- it means _way_ a lotto me!" he said seriously.

"No worries, my friend. I'll see you tonight, then."

"Alright, until then." Ron waved slightly at his co-worker and saw him as he was leaving him. '_This is going to be the most important day of my career life.'_ he thought and after paying for a small salad and a bottle of pumpkin juice, he went back to his office, beaming happily as he was thinking about the new acquaintances he would make that night.

_Little did he know…_

…

Hermione, while she was at work, heard an owl tapping slightly on the glass of the window. She went quickly towards the window and opened it for the owl to come in. She took the letter which was on the owl's leg and read it while she was petted lightly the bird.

_Mione,_

_Alfred & Tobias have a meeting of sorts at Alfred's place and he invited me as well. They're going to be many famous healers from around the world and it's going to be present and _Leopold Skimmer! _I just cannot believe that the one healer who motivated me to become a healer would be here as well!_

_So, please Mione, can you find it in yourself and let me be there tonight? I'm _extremely _sorry I won't be with you tonight and I'll try to make up for you, what do you think about it?_

_Love you so much, sweetie,_

_Your desperate husband._

Hermione laughed softly at her husband's desperation. Of course she knew about Ron's obsession with Leopold Skimmer; she, as well, considered him as one of the most important healers of all times for his achievements. There was absolutely no way to let her Ron out of this event- she knew that meant way too much for her husband's career. Of course, that also meant she would be on her own that night, instead of cuddling with her Ronnie or doing other, more interesting things, but seeing his handsome face full of light and excitement afterwards- well, that make it worth it…

…

Ron was on various rooms of his ward, checking on his patients' state and supervising his co-worker's work. He had now a little chat with one of his patients, when Sarah came in.

"What is it, Sarah?" he asked gently.

"A mail just came for you and I thought I should give it to you, in case it's some kind of emergency." Sarah explained and handed him the letter. Ron thanked her as she was going back to her work. Ron opened the letter and smiled softly when he recognized his Mione's beautiful and neat handwriting:

_Dear,_

_Of course I let you to go at the meeting- there was NO way not to let you. Besides, Ronald, you're an adult now; I'm certain you can very well make a decision on your own!_

_Anyway, I hope you have fun tonight and meet all these people you want to._

_I'll be thinking of you, love- and I'm also in deep thought about this 'making up' you referred to your letter…_

_Many kisses,_

_Your, hopelessly in love, wife._

Ron blushed slightly when she came up with the 'making up' section, but also smiled warmly. He loved her with his entire being and thanked her in his mind for giving him this opportunity. He knew what it meant to be home alone, without your spouse around, unable to tell them how much you love them and need them every few minutes, and if not telling them, then showing them with any possible way. He knew how hard it was waiting for your beloved to show up; it just drives you crazy, in an unexplainable way. The few times he was home alone, while Hermione was at work meetings, he always felt cold and quite dizzy, until she showed up. He thanked with all his heart for her small, but at the same time enormous, sacrifice…

He was at work for a few more hours, which passed surprisingly fast. Suddenly, he started feeling a bit nervous about the upcoming event and for a second he thought about not going. Then he thought against this rush, absentminded decision and laughed almost inaudibly to himself just to make his unreasonable nervousness fade away. _'Everything was going to be just fine.'_ he reassured himself and finished the rest of his paperwork for the day. Then he went out and after locking his office and waving at a branch of people he met at the hallway, he disapparated with a faint _'pop!'_ to Alfred's house.

He appeared at the backyard of his colleague's house and after making sure his balance was letting him take a few steps without falling, he went to the front door and knocked quite loud; there were noises coming from inside.

Alfred opened the door after a mere moment. He smiled happily and patted Ron on the back. "Finally, you came up, Ronald Weasley! I thought for a moment that you changed your mind!"

"Of course not, Alfred, I just had paperwork to do, that's all." He explained nervously. Alfred laughed and gestured him to come inside.

"No more excuses, Mr. Weasley, there are quite a few people who are really eager to meet you. Come on!" he exclaimed and Ron went inside the enormous house, which was full with various people, who all had a common, though: their eagerness to help and save other people's lives.

…

Ron was slightly dizzy from his amazing discussion with Leopold Skimmer. Tobias made sure to take Ron and introduce him to the great healer, and of course the redhead was utterly pleased with that (mostly because he hadn't the nerve to go there by himself, but of course he couldn't admit that even to himself.). They had a wonderful discussion, in which Ron told how much he admired Leopold's work, while the latter congratulated Ron for his active participation at war and also his achievements on healing science. They talked for over an hour, mostly about the advance the healing field of wizarding science seems to have. Ron hadn't been able yet to understand his luck of having such an experience, which would help his career a lot. After that, he considered being lucky to have another, dear friend.

He looked around at the crowded, enlarged living room and noticed Alfred a few meters away with another person. He instantly went there. When he reached his destination, Alfred noticed him immediately.

"Oh, look who it is! I see you let Mr. Skimmer take a breath!" he joked. Ron blushed instantly.

"Well, we had a really good discussion and now we've finished- I don't see the big deal." he tried to hide his rising nervousness in front of strangers, so he wouldn't make bad or embarrassing impression. He glanced at the person who Alfred was speaking with: she was a beautiful, petite, young woman, with sleek, long, black hair and big, green eyes. He noticed then that she was eyeing him steadily and he swallowed with a bit difficulty.

"Well, Ron, let me introduce you to Sonia Davinio; she is healer for the 'National Wizarding Hospital' in Italy. Sonia, this is Ron Weasley, he works with me at St. Mungo's."

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Ron." Sonia said flirtatiously and shook hands with Ron. He, on the other hand, seemed quite uncomfortable.

"Well, em, nice to meet you, too." He mumbled unsurely. She smiled seductively.

"Ron, I see your glass is empty, why so?" Alfred asked slightly surprised and without waiting for an answer, he refilled the redhead's glass with strong firewhiskey. Suddenly someone shouted: 'Alfred! Come here, man!' the man who was called chuckled and looked at his company.

"Excuse me, my friends, but they're looking for me. I'll be right back, just chat a bit, won't you?" he said and a second later, he was gone.

Ron took a glance of Sonia carefully, and she didn't seem to let her stare drop away from him. He felt really uncomfortable and took a big sip of his drink. He instantly felt his eyes wet.

"So…" Sonia started with a warm, slight erotic tone, "How many years have you been working with Alfie?"

Ron grimaced slightly at Alfred's pet name. "Well, I've been working with him for about… 4 years now."

"Wow, then I suppose you started working when you were still really young…"

"P-Probably…" He took another big sip. "And you? What about you?"

"What do you _want_ to _hear_ about _me?"_ she whispered and her tone seemed to imply something that Ron didn't quite understand, so he drank again to calm down his, confusing for him, nervousness.

"I-I meant work. How many years have you been working?" He cursed himself in his mind for his unreasonable, constant, slight stammer.

"I've been working for 5 years now." she said confidently. Ron's eyes widened a bit.

"That's a long time for a young woman like you." '_Shit. This didn't mean to sound like a compliment or something!'_ Ron thought worriedly and peered at her face to catch any kind of reaction.

Well, she obviously took his words as a compliment. "Thank you very much, Ron; it's nice to know that you think of me as _a young woman…_" she said flirtatiously again and as a result, Ron knocked back immediately the rest of the strong liquid there was in his glass. He wanted to clarify to her that he didn't have such intentions, he was married. He scratched his nose with his left hand, so she would see his wedding band and forget about all the flirting. He was sure she saw the gold ring at his finger because he could see its reflection on her eyes, however she didn't react about the fact at all; she still seemed to be really confident.

"I see you drink quite fast." she said and refilled his glass. He didn't say a thing, he just drank again, now quite worried about the situation.

They talked a bit more- well, it was more actually like her talking seductively and refilling again and again his glass with firewhiskey, while Ron was stammering and drinking absentmindedly, until he was, almost 2 hours later, very tipsy.

"You know, we should find a room and have our way; what do you think of that?" Sonia whispered huskily on his ear. He gazed at her a bit before he replied.

"You know, I'm a married man and I really love and respect my wife; what do you think of that?" he hissed, but without a trace of anger in his voice.

"Well, I don't really care about it, so let's go." she said confidently and after grabbing his hand, and without looking suspicious, she went with him to the rather large bathroom. She locked the door and silenced the room with a flick of her wand, before turning her attention back to Ron.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" she whispered hoarsely and force him to sit on the toilet seat. With his logic gone far away and with alcohol possessing his mind and judgment, Ron was unable to form a complete thought even in his mind.

Sonia, on the other hand, has started kissing and sucking on his neck, heading lower. She took off his robes and shirt and started kissing his muscular torso. Ron was enjoying the feeling without much shame, thinking it was his _wife_ doing all these amazing things to him. He moaned and groaned absentmindedly as she was keeping on her ministrations. Her mouth was wandering lower and lower and it reached his waistband. She stopped for a minute and looked at Ron with heat in her eyes, but Ron didn't seem to observe her- the only thing his sensations preferred to keep focus on was the wicked way her lips were working on him. She seemed to catch that and smiled with satisfaction to herself. Then, she unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers and lowered them, along with his boxers, to his knees.

What felt Ron a moment later was just indescribable. He imagined Hermione doing that to him a few times, but he never had the nerve to talk with her about it. And now, one of his darkest and yet, most embarrassing, wants was just being fulfilled. He moaned his wife's name and put his palms on her head, wanting to feel her crazy mane of brown locks. Instead of this, he only found sleek, long hair and that confused him for a minute, but as his head was unable to think straight, he just put his long fingers between the straight locks and kept on moaning. This action was continued for a few more minutes, and before Ron was ready to come, he pulled Sonia away from his manhood and sat her rather forcefully, on his lap. She looked surprised for a mere second, before smiling slyly at him.

"You want me to ride you, don't you?" she whispered huskily and started doing that without waiting for his answer or permission. They both groaned and they built a rhythm together, a downright intoxicating dance. That lasted some minutes, until they cried out from ecstasy. She pulled off of him and sat again on his lap. They tried to calm their uneven breathings (for Ron it was ten times more difficult, as he was really drunk, when Sonia wasn't as much) and after a few minutes, they finally managed to do so.

"I take that you liked it…" Sonia said flirtatiously and caressed his chest with her palm. Ron looked down, at the woman who was sitting on his lap and talking to him, and the sight frightened him completely.

She was not his wife. She _definitely_ wasn't_ his Mione. _She was a complete stranger, he couldn't recognize her at all, and as much he was trying to remember who the heck this woman was, his head seemed stubbornly unwilling to participate to his pointless efforts. He instantly pulled her away of his half-naked body, then he stood up and after pulling up his underwear and trousers and making sure(as much as he could, with his throbbing head not being really helpful) that his every article of clothing was in its right place, he weakly cast some spells and stormed out of the room, without throwing a single glance back.

~_Well, I hope you like the first chapter! And I'd like to know your opinion by clicking on this nice, little box below with the green letters! I really would love that!_

_~And I'll update as soon as possible the next one. Until then... xxx_


	2. Realization Hits Hard

**Author's note:** Hi everyone! Here is the second chapter of the story and it's slightly smaller than the first one, but I hope you still like it.

And yay! in just some hours, the 1st chapter had over 100 hits! Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope that I'll not disappoint you, but there is _only one review! _So, please I would really, really like more reviews, as I would know your opinion about the story and it would also help me become better at writing. Again, I'd also like to say that if you find any grammar or spelling mistakes, I'd appreciate it if you mentioned them.

**Clarification: **I actually don't like the idea of Ron cheating on Hermione or vise versa, so this story doesn't focus on the particular fact, but it mostly focuses on: a) how much Ron regrets about this mistake of his and how little was his participation in it, and b) how much horrible Ron feels after the event and where his sort of 'insanity' leads things in his and Hermione's lives, as you'll be able to see from this chapter and on... (all these of course, according to my opinion.)

Well, I'll let you now to read. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

~_Realization hits hard_~

Ron Weasley was wandering, still a bit tipsy, around unknown roads, to unknown destinations. His head was throbbing and the pain was killing him, but not as much as the pain in his chest. Something, which's identity he couldn't make out, he couldn't understand, has been seated itself arrogantly, deep inside his chest, and Ron was quite sure he wouldn't be able to make it go far, far away for some long time. At first he didn't thought about it much, but after a few hours, when he realized that this _something_ was unwilling to go away soon, he thought about giving it more credit. As he was a healer, he took rather clumsily his wand from his pocket and scanned himself for any kind of disease or illness. He couldn't find any trace of something like that, and then he cast a sobering spell on himself, so he could think and walk straighter.

He scanned his mind for all the memories from the night he had: _Leopold Skimmer, talking, talking, talking, drink, Alfred_,_ many unknown healers, Alfred, drinks, drinks, drinks, Sonia, drinks- -_

'_Wait a minute…what the- -'_Ron thought and then it hit him: _Sonia Davliblio _or something. That was it. Then more memories flashed in his head: many, many glasses of firewhiskey and a large bathroom and the… and then the other… He remembered the really strong feelings, the intoxicating experience…

Then he thought again about the _something_ that was swelling rapidly in his chest. It surely wasn't a symptom from a random illness; it wasn't some kind of pain on his muscle or temporary little pain because of work stress or something. _No. _It was permanent; he was absolutely sure of it now. It was permanent and it would swell and swell and swell forever, and it was going to possess his heart and his soul and his mind; he would be totally controlled by this insufferable pain until he'd die, and even then, this _something_ would chase him forever, never giving his soul some rest…

_It was guilt. It was the pain of betraying._

Ron's eyes widened as realization hit him hard, really hard. Then the image of the one person that was waiting for him flooded his head and the _something _cut sharply and deeply his heart. What kind of spoiled bastard he was? How… how…

He knew there were no excuses for his unscrupulous crime towards his wife. He glanced up and saw a slightly dirty glass that was covering a poster next to a bus stop. He went nearer and watched his pathetic reflection at it. With his wand, he healed all the marks that woman had left on him, so there was no evidence for his shameful actions, until he knew how to handle them. He glared at the reflection again and after a few more moments of glaring, he spit at it with pure hatred, anger and disgust. He hated himself. _He wanted to die…_

He started to walk again, with slow, unsure steps. He didn't want to apparate back to his house; he feared what he was about to face there. He feared to face Hermione, he couldn't. How would he be able to look his wife straight in the eye? Probably he wouldn't. But he had to return back home, otherwise she would be extremely worried about him- not that he was worth her worry now, anyway… He should find a solution as soon as possible about what he was about to do with it. He was going to tell her or…

He really, couldn't consider the other option… but he knew that this decision wasn't going to be made _right now, _anyway. He should have his mind as clear as possible and at the moment, the only thing his mind could thing about was the unbearable pain that was stemming from his wound and his rising guilt. He was pathetic… He was full of dirt…

He finally reached their house some minutes later, with his head dropped down while he was feeling rather dizzy from his already immense guilt. He still wasn't able to fully understand how could he do this to the _one person_ he loved with his entire being. He thought with anger that it was _her _fault how things were finally led, but it wasn't all her responsibility; mostly it was _his fault._ _He_ was the one who was drinking uncontrollably and let this woman flirting with him. _He_ was the one who, for _once- Jesus Christ of _all _the times!-_, felt the urge to be tactful and not tell her straight-forward that he was _married_ and he wasn't _a bit_ interested in her looks or anything else that was hers. _He _was the_ one _who let all this shit happen, without thinking at all about the situation, just he let himself been drifted by overwhelming, but at the same time, _so wrong, so…so indescribably and unbearably untrue and stupid, _feelings… _He _was the_ one _who supposed to have his judgment uncorrupted; _he _was supposed to put an end to this, because he would have to face the consequences later. He was pathetic…

Without knowing how, he had finally reached their bedroom, where Hermione was sleeping peacefully. He gazed at her form for what it seemed to be years, and then he came up with the idea of jumping out of the open window, which was only some centimeters away. The more he was thinking about it, he more he couldn't explain to himself how he had done this, but then again, he had just done it.

He took off his clothes slowly, he put on his pajamas and ever so slowly, he tried to lie on the bed, wishing with his whole mind not to wake her up. But, to his unfortunate, Hermione turned around sleepily, so she could look at him with half-closed eyes and even bushier hair from sleeping; however, for Ron this was the perfect image for an angel.

"Did you just come, love?" she said with her sleepy, low tone.

"Yeah, just a few minutes ago. You know, I lost track of time and such…" he replied with a quick excuse, but that was killing him even more: the prospect of telling her lies and finding, unconvincing and rather suspicious in his mind, excuses, was just unbearable for him. At the thought of doing this quite often in the near future, his heart started pounding really fast, and it surely would escape from his chest anytime soon. "You should better go back to sleep." he continued rather clumsily. She half-nodded and after kissing him lovingly on the cheek, she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep, though this time, she preferred as a pillow her husband's chest. He didn't felt comfortable with this at all, for the very first time since he had met her back at his first year at Hogwarts. Frankly, he felt rather horrible, with his terrible mistake screaming at him all this time…

Time passed quickly, and Ron hadn't felt the need to sleep for once, as his guilty thoughts and painful memories were whirling restlessly through his head. In all this, deep thinking, he didn't even notice that he managed to close his heavy eyelids and give a tiny break to his brain from his deliberation.

But things didn't seem much better in his slumber, though…

_Ron was in a big, dark room, which he couldn't identify as known to himself. He examined it carefully and his first discovery was the fact that the room seemed to be a bedroom. He walked around for a bit, with hesitant steps, until he heard a doorknob been turned, so he turned his head towards the source of the sound, hoping that he could get some more clues about where he was. The door was opened slowly and then a petit woman with long, black hair appeared. He recognized her immediately, as the _something _inside his chest groaned warningly… _

_Sonia._

_He glared at her without giving a second thought about it. She smiled at him happily._

"_Hello, Ronald" she said seductively, but he didn't even blink, hearing the tone in her voice; he just find it more annoying._

"_What are you doing here, eh?" he demanded sharply "Haven't you ruined my life enough as it is?"_

"_For your information, _you _are at _my _place." she was kind enough to inform him, still confident and not at all angry by his mean words. "Besides, I didn't finish with you, handsome, I have so many things I want to try with you…"_

_Ron shivered with quite unmanly fear, but he quickly pushed it aside. "I don't give a damn about your wants!" he cried out furiously. She laughed._

"_Then, what are you doing here? If you didn't want any of it, you wouldn't be here in the first place." Well, she has her reasoning, but there was _no way _he would give in… again…_

"_I did have NO idea this was your house until you told me so! I don't even KNOW how I ended up here!" he said and he felt that he was starting to lose his temper._

"_Both way, you are still here and I'm going to seize this opportunity." she said matter-of-factly._

"_Who said that I'm going to stay here a moment longer?" he told her angrily and went towards the door._

"_Who said I'm going to let you do so?" her reply came short after his and with a flick of her wand, he was tied tightly on the bed. He looked at the ropes around his ankles and the handcuffs at his wrists, horrified for a moment, before he glared back at her._

"_Loose them now…" he said warningly but she seemed unaffected by his warnings._

"_No, I won't. I said to you that I have to try some more things with you and I'll do as I wish. I always get what I want, you know…" His eyes widened instantly._

"_Oh, just… just _please_… _please, _let me go…" If the warnings didn't have an effect on her, he should try the begging, as well (even though he didn't get his hopes really up). _

_She smiled flirtatiously at him, as she was approaching. "It turns me on when you beg like this; you should consider doing that more often…" He shifted uncomfortably on the bed; her approaching him did totally turned _him _off and slight fear teased the bottom of his stomach._

"_You're absolutely sure you want to try all this_… things_" he put great effort not to show any emotion in his voice or make a grimace, "…with me? I'm quite sure you've meet much more handsome guys than me; I'm not a great catch; honestly. Besides, most possibly, I won't even be able to get through the first round; I'll probably pass out…" he said as much lame excuses as his dumb brain cells could think of. But once again, nothing of all these seemed to get though her head._

"_Well, I really would like to see that one; you totally worn out because of _me… _fading because of exhaustion, but still blissful…"_

_Her words sickened him; she was downright insane! "Who said I'm going to be blissful, anyway?" he exclaimed angrily and exhaled all the air his lungs have inside them. Then, she sat next to him on the bed and Ron was shivering now. Before she even had the chance to lean closer to him, Hermione appeared out of nowhere, with her face full of tears. Ron totally freaked out. _

"_Hermione!" he cried out anxiously; he was extremely worried about what sort of wrong conclusions his wife was ready to make, if she hadn't already._

"_I didn't expect something like that from you, Ronald. How could you this to me, Ronald?" she seemed to want some answers. Ron looked at her horrified._

"_Hermione, it's not like that, can't you s- _-" _he started to explain the situation (which, in his opinion, was quite obvious, as he was with ropes and handcuffs, for Merlin's shake!), but a soft moan cut him off immediately. He looked with shock and slight amusement at Sonia, who was moaning and sighing with closed eyes, while she was doing… well, she was doing _nothing at all!_ A grimace full of disgust appeared on Ron's face. He heard sobbing from the other side of the room and his attention was focused back on his wife._

"_It's not my fault, Hermione… That crazy woman over here tied me when I was trying to go!" He tried to put a note of sense in this rather ridiculous, yet horrifying, scene, but made it worse._

"_I don't want to hear any of these ridiculous excuses of yours, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione yelled between her sobs. "I know your reasons very well!"_

"_My reasons?" he said, without being able to hide his new-found curiosity. Next to him, Sonia kept on her stupid sighing._

"_Of course, Ronald, I can see it now…" she sobbed some more before continuing "I'm not as satisfactory in bed as you want me to be, am I?" Ron's eyes almost get out of their sockets as he was hearing these words, but he didn't have the time to give his answer; Hermione continued the talking between her uncontrollable sobbing:_

"_I just want to know one thing, Ronald." She said in her professionally tone, "Is she better than me at shagging? How much better she's at it, Ronald?"_

_And Ronald couldn't stand this madness anymore; he just screamed…_

He opened his eyes startled. He felt cold sweat pouring out from his body and his breathing was slightly uneven. He instantly looked at his wife, who fortunately, was still sleeping deeply and hadn't notice any kind of his not-so-calm attitude in her sleep. He was thankful for that; however he wasn't thankful at all for all the other things…

First of all, what the _heck _was that? Was that a kind of dream- _well, nightmare, to be honest_- that supposed to make him shiver and freak him out because of horror? '_Well, it definitely didn't miss its blow…' _Ron thought rather sarcastically for a second, but the terrible seriousness of the situation beat the quite unsuccessful sarcasm. He was frightened now, above other things (maybe the fright and the guilt were at the same rate, though); he was frightened _by himself._ How he could manage that, he wasn't totally sure, but he had managed it, nonetheless. He wasn't even sure now if he would be able to survive through the unpromising night. And after that, what about the next morning? What he would have to face then?

He sighed extremely softly, not wanting to wake up his wife. He looked at the ceiling and hoped he wouldn't drift into restless slumber again. Even though that this dream of his was actually ridiculous and not horrifying in the slightest, as the logic part of his mind insisted on telling him, he couldn't help it but think that it was one of the worst and most fearful nightmares he'd ever had. It made this _something _(he wasn't able to spell _the actual word_ out yet, so he still referred to it mostly with the word _'something', _as he'd called it for the first time) swell with pride for its achievement, but at the same time, it as well, was feared by the thought of more pain to come.

Ron was burdened with all these confusing and perplexing thoughts in his mind, so he tried to focus on something else, which would be proved to be less painful for him. He tried to focus on listening Hermione's steady breathing and he managed to slightly forget his disastrous mistake for a moment. But it was a mere moment, before his thoughts were back again to the night events… He shook his head, and with it, he also attempted to shake the millions of unpleasant thoughts away, which threatened him to come back again, more powerful and thirsty for even more pain and fear…

On this second attempt of his to give himself some rest, he tried to focus his attention on the various echoes and noises that were stemming from random sources from outside. That was the easy part of the task; with his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his ears were catching even the faintest or the furthest noise. He could hear the slight, shoothing swishing of the leaves from the trees that were planted a few meters away from his house; he could hear some owls hooting and every once in a while, he could listen probably to some rather careless muggle, who was braking suddenly and for a while, their car, producing, as a result, this annoying, scratching noise. But after a minute, the swishing was suspiciously reminded Ron of deathly, unpleasant whispers that were promising no good; the owls' hootings were adding on this spooky, terrifying atmosphere; however the braking was by far, the most dreadful in Ron's ears: every time he listened to this noise, he instead was listening to a high-pitched scream- '_cheeeeeeeeeeat!_' was all it was saying, every single time this same, heart-stabbing quote…

Ron felt tears stemming from his tired eyes and coming all the way down to his handsome, yet frightened, face, freely. His breathing was slightly uneven now and he was trying to tremble as little as possible, so he wouldn't interrupt his Mione's sleep. Someone in this house should have all the rest that's in need, and of course, _he wasn't this 'someone'…_

_And Ron Weasley, at this very moment, knew that there was no way for him to get out of this…_

~Well, I know this chapted is very depressing, but I hope you like it, nontheless. And please, I would REALLY like to see some feedback!!!

I'll try to update as soon as possible. Unti then... xxx :D


	3. Diagnosis And Prescription

**Author's Note: **Hello again! So, here is the third chapter of the story! I know that this one is shorter than the other 2, but it was rather difficult to write and I actually thought that it should be ended where I put the final full stop; otherwise I believe it wouldn't make so much sense... Also, I'm sorry if the description at first is a bit confusing, as I write about Ron _and _Hermione's thoughts, but after a while, it's just Ron's as always...

After that, I would like to thank all of you for reading this story and I hope I won't disappoint you. This story has, so far, over 350 in less than half a week and I'm extremely satisfied with it! Though, I'd love to see some more feedback, please, I really need that so I could move on with the story and become better at my writing.

(And Dennis, if you're reading this, I hope you won't find so many mistakes at this one... ;))

Now, I'll let you read. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Diagnosis And Prescription~_

Hermione opened her eyes slowly, as she felt the sunbeams caressing the pale skin of her face. She blinked a few times before she got used to the light, and she glanced at the bed. She was alone; the space next to her was empty. That confused her for a mere second, but then she thought that Ron probably was already awake- even though it was rather unusual of him to wake up before she did. She rubbed her eyes for a moment before she got up from bed and started getting ready for her day. When she was ready, she quickly climbed down the stairs and went towards the kitchen. As she expected, she found Ron there, but the sight of him was completely off: he was sitting on a chair next to the table, without a plate full of food or a mug of coffee or tea in front of him. His head was dropped down and his gaze seemed unfocused. Probably he was just waiting for her.

"Good morning, handsome." she said with affection in her voice, and his head was jerked instantly. Hermione was horrified to see his face like this: it was extremely white, almost having a grayish colour, his eyes were almost out of their puffy sockets and they were also a bloodshot; there were also black half-moons under them.

"Good morning." he whispered without much emotion, as he was looking at the table. Finally the most dreadful moment, so far, had come; the first time to see each other properly, without one of them half-asleep. He felt his stomach clenched, but he didn't show it with any way to her. She felt worry, nonetheless.

"Ronnie, dear, what's wrong? You look really tired, didn't you sleep well last night?" she asked him anxiously and she sat next to him. He tried to stay calm and still and not to start shifting and becoming stiff. She seemed to be extremely worried only by his awful looks.

"W-Wrong?" he stammered slightly and looked suddenly really fearful. _'She has to know somehow, there is no other way to explain this'_, he thought frightened. "No. Nothing's wrong."

"Why are your eyes like this?" she was very worried now. He seemed uncomfortable, for some reason.

"I-It's just exhaustion from work…. Nothing serious." He said the very first excuse that popped in his mind.

"And why are they a bloodshot?" she demanded softly. He froze for a second. He had forgot about his all-night and all-morning crying; how foolish of him to leave such clues still evident! "Ron, were you- -?"

Ron immediately cut her off. "It's just from exhaustion, Hermione." He whispered, though his tone was silently demanding her on not pressing him more on the particular subject. She took a deep breath, thinking that she ought to bring up this later that day, and then she noticed his red skin on his arms.

"Why are you so red?" She didn't even have the time to think about asking the question or not- her tongue had a mind of its own.

"I've just had a shower." he explained lowly. He seemed nervous and in some kind of pain and she wanted to disrupt him from these odd feelings of his.

"How many hours you're under hot water, Ronald?" she teased softly so he would lighten up a bit. But her efforts met with failure, as she saw her husband not even flinch with her comment.

"Quite a few minutes" he just said almost inaudibly. He, of course had been staying under the shower, while it was pouring out boiling hot water, for over an hour, so he could scrub the invisible dirt off of his body. "I made you some coffee and toast." he continued and nodded towards the counter, where there was a cup with steaming coffee and a plate with some toast. She looked at them for some odd seconds, before her attention was back on Ron.

"Where is yours?" she asked him; she was quite sure that it wasn't one of the days when Ron was trying to reminisce theirs times back at school by shoving his breakfast into his mouth and finishing his two helpings within a few, short minutes. His words came out from his mouth and her theory was affirmed.

"I'm not hungry." He replied, with this new-found, neutral voice of his still present. Hermione didn't know if she should get annoyed or even more worried at the moment.

"You don't look ok, Ron, did you get the flu or something?" she really couldn't explain his behavior with any other way.

"No, Mione, I'm fine, I'm just tired, that's all." Ron tried to sound reassuring but he didn't even seem to convince himself about it. What a pathetic liar he was…

"Maybe you should have your day off, love, and get some rest. What do you think of that?" she tried to make him a little bit more cheerful and she cupped softly his cheek with her warm palm. Even then, his eyes didn't meet hers.

"No, I shouldn't do this. I'm Head Healer and I must be there, otherwise it's going to be a total mess up there." he said reasonably and seemed more like himself. Hermione smiled up to him, trying to tell him without words that she would be there for him, whenever he needed her. Ron seemed to know that particular look of hers very well and as a result of the recognizing, the _something _purred and his chest tightened immediately. Then she leaned closer to him and pecked him softly on the lips. He tried hard to blink back his tears.

"Well, you didn't tell me about the meeting yesterday!" she exclaimed happily as she was spreading some jam on her toast; she was expecting that this would make him more cheerful and in mood to elaborate a bit. But it brought the quite opposite effects, even though she couldn't see it, as Ron froze completely and his huge, red eyes widened worryingly much.

"It was…" he thought for a moment how he was about to answer best her question, without elaborating or looking too happy or too untouched by emotions, "…fine."

Hermione raised her eyebrows in question. "Just fine?" she looked a bit suspicious, but she was smiling warmly at her husband. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Yes, fine." He tried to sound surer about his choice of words and his opinion for the event, but probably he wouldn't convince his wife completely, so he elaborated a bit more: "But quite boring, to be honest." He wanted so badly to grimace with disgust when he realized which of all the expressions had just chosen to say aloud; however his sudden want was put aside as quickly as it appeared at the back of his head, so it wouldn't raise suspicions to his wife. "Most of them were tired from travelling and boring. And besides, many of them were very old and snob, anyway."

"And what about Leopold Skimmer?" she asked curiously "Did he was snob and boring as well?"

Ron thought for a mere moment that he was under investigation. "Well, what can you expect for a tired, old healer? Not many things."

"And didn't you manage to speak with him?" she indirectly pressed on the subject, probably because she believed she managed to make him elaborate some and disrupt him from his whichever thoughts were troubling him. But of course, this was just infeasible.

"I talked to him for a bit, but I soon noticed that I have a different point of view from him. So, I dropped it." _Why so many lies? Why so many, worthless lies?_

"That was unexpected, to say at the least…" she commented with an apologetic smile on her lips. Ron thought at the moment he saw her smile, that it would be a really good idea to grab a spade, dig an enormous hole and fall inside it. _'Thoughtful prospect this one, indeed…' _"You must have been downright disappointed by this, am I right?" she continued.

"Yeah, absolutely…" Ok, this must have been his hundredth lie. _'Bravo, me! I manage fairly well! Maybe when I reach 1000 lies, I should organize a party or something…' _Ron thought sarcastically but didn't let a trace of his various sentiments to be shown on his awfully-looked face.

After a few moments, Hermione suddenly knitted her eyebrows and bit her lip, trademarks of hers when she was in deep, deep thinking and slight confusion. '_Oh! This is not good; not good at all, Ronald Weasley…' _Ron thought fearfully.

"If it was so boring at the meeting, how so you came up late last night? You said you lost track of time yesterday…" she spoke aloud her thoughts, and a very confusing look was now apparent on her face.

'_She caught you. She caught you. She caught you, YOU STUPID, SCATTER-BRAIN GIT! And damn her super-big brain.' _"I was talking with Tobias and Alfred about work. That's how I lost track of time." Ron replied instantly. _'Really impressive, Weasley; your excuses and your so-called lies can get lamer and lamer every time you try to invent one of them…'_

Hermione examined his face for a moment, which seemed a whole year in Ron's mind, before she smiled briefly and took a sip of her coffee. Ron had the sudden urge to exhale loudly from his momentary relief, but then the great amounts of guilt and pain were multiplied extremely fast. _'Are you serious, Weasley? __Relief, from all the things?'_

"I should probably go, otherwise I'll be late." he said hoarsely and he stood up rather clumsily. Hermione looked at him anxiously.

"Are you're sure you want to go?" she said once again. He looked at her intensely, even though he didn't intend to do so.

"Yes, Mione, I'll be fine, so don't worry, ok?" he said calmly and with as much warmth as his voice could muster. She seemed a lot more relieved after this.

"Ok, then, I'll see you at afternoon, I suppose. If anything happens, owl me immediately, ok?" she told him quite apprehensively.

"Fine. See you." he said shortly and hurried to floo to the hospital, just wanting to escape from this uneasy situation…

…

Ron was at his office, gazing at the space in front of him with unfocused eyes; he was terribly lost in his torturous thoughts and nothing could distract him at the moment.

What should he do? What? What it was right- if there was right and wrong in his case anymore- to do? Should he tell her? Or should he keep it a secret? What should he do?

Well, maybe he should consider his options first and then decide which one was less wrong (because none of them was right, supposing his actions had been false from the very first minute since last evening) to follow it.

_Ok, then- Option No1: Tell Her The Truth._

_- Pros: I will be honest with her, and that MAYBE make her considering about forgiving me… someday…_

_- Cons: I probably won't manage to live to see the end of this (not that I deserve it, anyway), she'll be extremely angry (matter-of-course!), she'll probably be extremely disappointed by me_ _(this would be awful, I couldn't stand that; I couldn't stand her disappointment towards me! - Like you don't deserve it, you moron! - I know I deserve this, you cock-brained, I just said that it would probably kill me! - Like you don't deserve that one, too…- SHUT UP! SHUT UP!)…Oof! Ok now, where I was? Oh yeah; she'll be disappointed by me, she will ask me… no; she will _demand _on taking divorce (grand finale, of course…)_

… _Probably it's needed to be under more consideration…_

_Option No2: Tell Her… Well, Tell Her Nothing At All. _

_- Pros: She probably will never find out, and _she, _at least, would live in happiness- even if it's mistaken.- _

_- Cons: The _something _won't give me rest at all- not that I wanted it in that case, anyway- , I couldn't stand living with her and telling her more lies, I couldn't stand if I somehow, make her unhappy and miserable and finally ruin her life completely, I couldn't probably stand if one of the two previous prospects _did happen, _so I would die… (Maybe this prospect I should consider it as a 'pro' actually…) _

Ron didn't seem to find out a way to handle the situation he had let himself get into. Every single minute he would change his previous decision, finding the other option more appropriate for solving his irresoluble problem. He felt extremely dizzy and quite nauseous from the unstoppable thought and the constant fighting with an annoyingly unclear part of his mind he didn't know he possessed. And he was frightened by it.

He groaned painfully when he felt a shooting pain at his chest and knew that _something _had come back after its short break. He knew that it wanted some answers really soon, like an editor demands furiously on taking the already belated article. That means it is _really furious_ about the delay…

"Just wait some more, ok?" he muttered with pain, both emotional and physical, evident in his voice. The pain grew sharply and he gasped lowly, trying to catch his breath and then he touched his left breastplate with his trembling palm, as though by doing this, his pain would be diminished. "Just give some more minutes and you'll have your answer, please." He whispered weakly as he was closing his eyes firmly and then he dug his nails further into the flesh of his chest; he couldn't stand the pain anymore. He looked very vulnerable and weak; the pain and the guilt had now possessed him completely, without showing even a hint of mercy towards the sinner. The pain sharpened even more, becoming unbearably stinging, even for the hard muscles, even for the strong bones. Ron fell with his knees on the floor and tried to grasp the sharp edge of his wooden desk so he wouldn't fell further down, probably to an unwelcome abyss of eternally merciless thoughts, of acidly painful control… he felt a few little trickles of hot blood escaping from his body and then from his firm grip, but this little 'sacrifice' didn't seem to ease the pain at all- it was just adding to the things that made him suffer.

"I-I won't t-tell her… not y-yet…" he managed to say between his violent gasps for precious air, for precious life, "I-I'll just keep quiet for some t-time… s-see what happens… and sometime… not very l-late… I'll tell her… I'll tell h-her… I-I p-promise… Just please… not so much pain… no… please…"

The pain seemed to easy down just a tiny bit, but that was enough for Ron to collapse on the floor freely and start sobbing uncontrollably. He couldn't dare to stand up and fight with his invisible, unbeatable enemies; he had neither the courage in his soul nor the physical and emotional strength to do so; he just stayed on the floor, still crying and sobbing violently and after a while, he could put his knees near to his hurt chess, looking like a life-like ball. He was looking at the empty, white walls around him with wide eyes full of fear for the impending end; his sore form was shaking freely and violently, and he was just wishing with the loose remnants of his soul, to be put an end to all these, to stop this lethal pain, the venomous thoughts not threatening him anymore, this hateful past not showing up again… He was just hoping for some sort of relief, even if he knew that he didn't deserve it at all…

_And from this very moment, his insanity and his well being, little by little, were sheered away off of him. He was a lost man._

~Well, I know at the end it's getting really sad; Ron starts losing his insanity by talking to himself and arguing with a very dark part of his soul & mind- but I still hope you enjoy this.

~ & PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! I want really bad some reviews; I want to know what you think about the story...

~And I'll try to update as soon as possible... Until then... xxx :)


	4. Unstoppable Bleeding

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! here's the next chapter of the story. I really hope you'll like it!

- I'm so happy for the so many hits this story has and thanks for the few reviews this story has so far received. But I still want more reviews, so I would know if I should go on with this story, and also which is your opinion about it.

**Alquimista: **Don't worry, I hadn't even thought for a mere second about that prospect. I think it would be too 'un-Hermione-ish' or something...! And I hope the next chapters will reach your and everyone else's expectations as well.

Now, I'll let you read. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Unstoppable Bleeding~_

**1, 5 Month Later. **

Ron Weasley went home very late after an exhausting day at work. He had been doing this very same thing every single day for over a month; now he wasn't able to survive with any other way but following this routine of his and doing nothing more or less than it: he would go to work really early, he would work without a single break, wearing himself out in a steady, yet really painful, way; he wouldn't have any breakfast or lunch at work, nothing but the half mug of black coffee he would sometimes drink because of his 'controllers'' force, so he would throw it up later. And late at the evening, when almost everyone had go back at their homes, he would cast a locking and a silencing charm on his office, so he would be able to unleash his unbending pain and torturous feelings without anyone knowing. He would scream and cry and sob and plea with fear for some mercy to the invisible creatures only _he_ could see and be frightened by them; he would drink strong alcohol and sometimes, if he was terribly forced to do so, he would beat himself merciless, provoking even more pain and bleeding. That would last for an eternity that was actually some hours, and then he would throw up again, before healing himself a bit so he wouldn't raise any suspicions and he would go back home, just to find a worried Hermione there, who wanted to help him, but the forces inside him were warning him every single time that he would suffer more the next time, if he would accept those kind offers of hers.

_He was just a hostage of his own life, a fearful hostage of his untamed sentiments…_

So a Friday night, like any other day, he would go back home with the sorrow and the pure depression apparent in his soul- if he was able to feel mild emotions like these, probably his 'controllers' must have gone for a few hours. When he reached the living room, he saw his wife reading a book, but her attention was focused on her husband when she noticed his lean figure.

"You're late again." She said with a hint of worry her voice always carried these past weeks.

"I told you that we are extremely busy these days." he commented emotionlessly and glanced quickly at her before his head was slightly dropped again. He couldn't look at her for very long, otherwise he would be blind a second later- it was like he had been working in a coal mine for ages and then he was told to look at the brightly beamish sun; it was something totally unobtainable. Even though she was his sun, he couldn't look at her for very long and straight in the eye, because if he tried to do so, his eyes would be eternally burnt.

"Well, do you want me to make you some dinner?" she asked a few seconds later. He shook his head slowly.

"No, I don't feel hungry, actually." Then he caught the slight anger that was lit in her face and he searched his mind for a convincing lie he didn't use that often. "I ate at work just few hours ago." She looked somewhat relieved by his answer and smiled lovingly at him.

"Ok then." She said quite happily. Then Ron noticed a quite unsure expression on her face and he was sure that she was thinking if she should say something to him or not.

Probably she thought to give it a try, 'cause he saw that her lips were parted slowly.

"Do you want… eh… to sit here with me?" she asked shyly and Ron remembered that even at their first date, they weren't so coy and unsure with each other. He felt horrible that he had ruined their relationship at this rate- because it was obvious that their wedding wasn't as rosy as it used to be once upon a time. And he was absolutely sure this didn't pass unnoticed to his wife- as she was so intelligent- , but probably she couldn't put a finger on which were the reasons why their marriage had this sudden twist. It was just like someone or something had blown out the spark there was once between them, but she couldn't find out the guilty party. On the other hand, Ron Weasley knew him very well.

"I'm tired- maybe we can do this another time; there would be plenty of chances" he told her, but this was like every time she had asked him something like this; he managed to turn down every single chance she would give him for some chattering, and postpone the date of this horrifying event for him. But he assumed that there would be no more cancelling, the moment he glanced through his eyelashes at his wife, and saw the slight desperation and the want for some contact, not particularly physical, all over her face.

"Please, Ronnie, every time I ask you to sit with me, you say you feel tired. Just please, sit with me and we can talk some; I can also rub your back if you want me to- it always relaxes you." she whined and pouted slightly her bottom lip. She knew what she was doing, of course: these were usually the 'weapons' she used on him, whenever she wanted him to do her some kind of favor. Even when Ron was at this dreadful state, he couldn't resist her when she called him 'Ronnie' and pouted her lips like that. Without actually realizing it, after a short moment, he was sitting next to her and looking towards her. She smiled brightly.

"Thank you darling…" she whispered lovingly and threw him a look full of adoration. When he noticed her look, he blinked furiously, to hold back the tears from his eyes, and he swallowed hard the scream that was coming fast from the depths of his chest.

"No problem" he choked out; it was difficult for him to speak to Hermione and trying to prevent this stubborn scream coming to the surface at the same time. "So, what do you want us to talk about?" he continued, when he was able to speak again without these annoying distractions teasing him, and then he noticed that his voice sounded a bit disturbing.

"Oh!" Hermione seemed to catch this particular tone of his and probably she started feeling nervous. "Eh… Well, I just thought that we could talk about things, you know…" she murmured nervously and she looked at her hands that were resting on her lap.

Ron took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "What sort of things?" he asked quite impatiently. This made Hermione even more nervous, like she was an insecure, teenage school-girl again.

"I-I don't know…" she stammered slightly. _'She's so cute when she does that…' _Ron thought, but then he imaginarily smacked himself on the head. _'Shut up, Weasley! How dare you think about her like that; like nothing's wrong, like you're the happy couple you _used _to be?' _His 'disapproving' thoughts were forgotten when he heard Hermione speaking again: "We can talk for whatever topic you want."

Ron thought about it for a minute. "I can't think of any." he said indifferently. They were in an uncomfortable silence then, which lasted for some long minutes.

"I have been thinking for a topic for a while." she mumbled unsurely and her cheeks had a warm pink colour on them now.

"Really?" he tried to sound a bit eager about it instead of showing his permanent sorrow. "And what is that?"

"Well… do you remember Halloween?" she asked shyly. When she looked the confused look on her husband's tired face, she started to explain. "On Halloween, we started a conversation after dinner, and you said about how much you love sweets, and then I joked that I hoped our children wouldn't inherited your appetite… and then we talked about… children…" she whispered the last one; Ron had heard her clearly, though… He just couldn't believe that _this _topic was up _now_, but it was natural to come up, sooner or later. But Ron knew that other than that, Hermione was thinking about another thing as well, the one that goes together with children and making a family: sex.

After the terrible event at Alfred's house, Ron was very careful around his wife, as regards any physical contact. He didn't touch her almost at all- he dodged as much contact with her as possible, and only a few times he would just caress for a second her hand with his fingers or kiss her hair softly, so she wouldn't get really suspicious. Of course she craved more attention from him (they were used to any kind of physical contact in huge doses every day), and she was actually quite disappointed and full of puzzlement every time she tried to do something with him and he only replied with a wide variety of excuses such as: '_I've got a massive headache', 'Sorry, but I can't even feel my legs from exhaustion, darling' _or _'I'm not in the mood today'_. She would whine for a second or offer him a hot bath and a back rub, just to convince herself that she hadn't lost this sort of 'battle' yet, but he would just say goodnight, go quickly to their bedroom and pretend he's asleep, until he was sure his wife was sleeping (of course, one of his tortures was the sleepless, long nights he had to stay in bed and listening to non-existent whispering that made him shiver.).

On the other hand, he didn't crave any attention from his wife- not that he had lost any interest in her, he just couldn't do it; it was like making the already big hole he had made, even bigger; like he was cheating her once again, even though he was with her. He couldn't take out of his mind the thought that if he did something like that with her, something so simple and full of love and adoration, he would just do something really stupid that would have terrible consequences. He just felt it was abnormal and impossible for him to participate in such affectionate activities anymore. Besides, there was and the other, huge factor that forced him to stay out from such moments of pure love and adoration, things he wasn't able to possess and handle: the _something _and his internal wounds would warn him and threaten him every time Hermione was trying to lead things to something more erotic and he didn't seem to protest. He remembered with a tightness in his stomach, the one time he gave in and kissed her back softly, when she started kissing his jaw line and after a minute, she reached his full lips and kissed them lovingly. The whole sensation was sweet and kind of powerful, and he had thought for a mere minute to coax her mouth open and deepen the kiss, but instantly, horrible warnings emerged into his head and ordered him to stop immediately, or he would be punished even worse. A second later, he pulled away from her and told her lamely that he was going to brush his teeth and call it a day, leaving her utterly confused with his weird behavior. Needless to say, next morning there was more beating and bleeding for him…

These trains of horrible thoughts of his stopped immediately when Hermione spoke again with a slightly worrying look apparent on her face; he probably was in so deep thought that he hadn't spoken at her for all this time.

"Do you remember?" she asked unsurely; the lack of any comment or reply from his side, made her nervous again. He nodded once.

"I think so…" he said carefully and waited for a response. When it didn't come, he spoke again. "What about it?" he asked gently, even though he knew the answer.

"You know, Ron, I have been thinking lately about things… and I've been thinking about us… making a family..?" she asked him like she didn't know her own thoughts.

Ron raised his eyebrows, wanting to show his, actually non-existent, confusion. "I think that's normal, Hermione." He said casually. Her eyes widened with astonishment.

"You really think so?" she asked him happily. Ron felt sadness as he knew that he had to slap her down. He nodded rather vigorously.

"Of course, Hermione, it's really normal. Every woman your age hears her 'biological clock' and she starts to feel the need to be a mother and make a family, especially if she's already married. Even men sometimes have the urge to become fathers, with such the same eagerness as women do." He explained casually and slightly professionally. Her face slightly fell.

"Oh." She just said and then talked again rather hopefully "Then, you mean that you… like every man our age… you have this need?"

He looked at her apologetically, without pretending this time "I'm so sorry, Mione, but I don't believe that we are ready to have children just yet. We are really young and I'm afraid of causing you so much physical pain- I don't think that your body is fully ready to cope with carrying a baby and giving birth." he said the lies one after the other, just to show her that he had _tenable arguments _over his statement. "And to answer to your question straightly, I don't think I have such needs yet- I probably give priorities over my work and you." He finally said _the big lie _and something teased him at the bottom of his stomach. Of course this was a lie; he wanted to have children with Hermione for so long- he absolutely felt the need to be a father and play with his little baby and take care of them. _He _was the one who started talking about babies and family on Halloween, for Merlin's sake! But right now, he didn't have another option: he had to pretend he was indifferent with the whole idea and it didn't actually occur to him. That would be ok… _for now, at least… _

"Oh" Hermione repeated and once again, she looked, with a quite hurt expression on her face, at her lap. "That's alright, I guess… I mean, you're a healer- you know what is right to do with it…"

"Exactly, Mione." He tried to sound reassuring instead of hurt as well- just for her sake (if that could be possible…). "Do you want to talk about something else, sweetie?" he continued and said the pet name he used to tell her at happier times. Hearing it, Hermione seemed to feel loads better.

"No, it's ok; besides you feel tired, you should go to bed, love, and I could rub your back if you want me to… take your stress away…"

"Nah, I'll be alright, I'll just go to bed." he said calmly and stood up. "Goodnight, Mione" he whispered and did something totally out of him: he pecked her gently on the lips. She blushed a bit and her eyes were shining with love. At first he felt… nice, but a second later, sorrow and depression overshadowed this bright, small feeling inside him. He tried with toil to give her a tiny smile.

"Goodnight, love. Don't wait for me, ok? I'll have to read some forms for work before I come to bed, and I'll probably be a bit late; don't lose your rest because of me." She said sweetly and then he wanted to laugh hard, for the very first time since the incident at Alfred's place; there was _no _way she being the reason of his lack of rest- there were way more distracting things to make him lose his entire rest than her… He just nodded to show his understanding and he started heading towards the stairs were leading to their bedroom. When he finally reached the room and closed the door behind him, he exhaled all the air out of his lungs and took a big breath, so a mere quantity of oxygen would reach his brain and as a result, he would think a bit more clearly, after this utterly depressing discussion for him.

He wore his pajamas and lay on the bed, with his back facing the door. As he was looking, without realizing it, the empty wall before him, he started thinking again- this new habit of his that he couldn't stand living without it now. It wasn't actually the fact that he liked this new 'pastime'; it was just that he was too deep in all these, that he sort of had to analyze everything he did or said, especially when he was around Hermione. He had to plan every movement of his, even the way he had to grab his mug of coffee with his hands, so it would seem familiar and the way _Ron_ was supposed to do it, especially in front of his wife. Yes, your guesses are right; he was in so much pain and so over control that most of his actions and movements he did every day, like filling out forms and drinking a few sips of coffee or waving to a co-worker and walking down a hallway, were almost mechanically done. But any other sort of activities of his had to be carefully planned, before they could be performed with some success. This was how Ron could _function _at the time- mostly with control, force, warnings, threats, pain, guilt, more guilt and countless amounts of miserable thinking. This was him now actually, and he didn't have any problem to admit this to himself; his 'controllers' had made sure to make him believe that he was worthy of this awful fate, that every blow he received was just what he was worthy to receive and nothing better than that… And he took them all, every blow, every punishment, every insult, without a single protest, without a single fight. And now, even if he, deep down, had a trace of desire for some relief, for some freedom, he wasn't able to stand against his 'controllers' and fight them; he was weak and unable to think with the passion and the power _Ron Weasley _once held inside him. Now he was just a man who was being controlled by forceful and merciless emotions, _his _untamed emotions…

He heard after some long moments, the door opening and someone coming in the room. He immediately clenched his eyes and he tried to make his breathing more steady and deep, so Hermione would wrongly assume that he was already asleep. He heard her while she was changing her clothes and sensed her when she lay next to him. He suddenly felt her leaning down to him, and he tried to stay still. He felt her hot breaths hit his skin and goose bumps covered his arms and back. Then, she kissed him on the cold cheek and lingered there for a quite long moment, before pulling away and bringing her lips near to his ear.

"I cannot understand why you're so distant lately, but we'll find out a way to work on this, together, I promise. I love you, Ron and I can't live without you." She whispered smoothly and kissed his hair softly. "Everything's gonna be alright… Goodnight, baby."

Ron felt his goose bumps still on his back as Hermione shifted on the bed and started sleeping. He wanted to cry violently, hearing these soothing words which promising so beautiful things… He wanted to believe her with all his heart, but he knew that when he would tell her about his cheating, she would forget all about her love for him, she wouldn't possibly want to find out a way to pull him out of this; she would just ditch him and he would live miserable and alone for the rest of his ruined life…

'_I know there is no way out of this… There is no way out of this… no way out of this… I'm alone… I'm alone… help…' _he was pleading in his mind like he was an afraid little boy, and he started trembling slightly. It was predetermined to be a difficult night for him…

_So, what do you think of this? I would really like to know by reading some FEEDBACK!!! That would be just awesome!_

_- If that might confuse you, when Ron was referring to 'his controllers', he meant all his bad feelings and his enormous guilt for his cheating, which control him almost completely at the time._

_-And I'll try to update as soon as possible. __Until then... xxx _:)


	5. Urgent Measures

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story. It's slightly smaller than the other ones, but there's actually only to lighten the mood up a bit and also it's like a preface for the upcoming events.

I'm extremely happy for all these hits and the few reviews. I really appreciate them and I'll try to reach your expectations.

And don't worry! Ron _will tell_ Hermione, but some really serious events should take place first, so it would happen in the next (...) chapters.

Now I'll let you read this chapter. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Urgent Measures~_

Hermione was in the kitchen, drinking slowly her coffee and reading her newspaper… Frankly, she hadn't even thrown a single glimpse over the headlines; she was just drinking slowly her coffee, having her newspaper untouched in front of her and thinking at high pressure.

It was a lovely, Saturday morning of early February, and Hermione Granger was home alone. Ron had gone at work, although it was _Saturday_. Both of them actually never went at work at weekends, but Ron probably had found it absolutely necessary going to hospital even on Saturdays, for over two months now. This was a vaguely weird thing for Ron to do, 'cause, as much as he loved his job, he always thought that two days per week were _'inevitable for his rest and health'_. Only thinking of these precise words of his, she couldn't quite understand what the heck was going on with her spouse. His odd behavior all this time made her somewhat restless and anxious to find out what was wrong. It was her? Did she, with some way, turn him away from her? Was she cold towards him? She couldn't answer these queries on her own- she wasn't _that clever,_ for Merlin's sake! But on the other hand, every time she attempted to approach him and ask him about all these, he would just profess that he was tired or something along this lines and he would disappear from her visibility range in seconds. And every time that would happen, her anxiousness would be transformed into worry.

Apart from that, he didn't want to do anything with her anymore. He didn't desire her touches, her cuddles up to him, her kisses, her… That was quite heartbreaking for her, as she was thinking vividly that even despite their rows or disagreements over even the most ridiculous things, now they had problems even at this field of their marriage, the only part she was sure they would never have a mere problem- along with their huge love for each other, of course. But at the moment, even these two things were equivocal in her mind. What if… if he…

She couldn't even think about that particular prospect. She was totally unable to think about it…

She drank the last few sips of her coffee and she considered quickly her few options: she could stay there all day alone and wandering inside these walls, while she would be wondering about her marriage; she would go for a walk and feel some fresh air on her face- that always relaxed her-, or she would go and make a surprise to Ron. The latter idea immediately was set aside, but another one came up. Yes, this was it! Going there, she would probably be able to get some answers or even a bit of advice- and that's what she needed right now- a piece of useful advice. She ran towards the fireplace and she threw some floo powder, as she was shouting her destination. She put her head into the emerald flames and watched the place searcingly. She yelled a name and after a short moment, a startled person appeared before her eyes.

"Ginny! Oh, Sweet Merlin, you're here!" she exhaled the breath she didn't realized she was holding all this time, with some relief. Ginny looked at her with surprise.

"Hermione, what's going on?"

"Oh, there are many things going on, Ginny, that's why I'm here!" the brunette said pretty desperately. "Do you have some free time? I want to tell someone."

Ginny seemed a bit worried by her friend's tone. "Of course, Hermione! Harry is out with George and James, so no one is going to distract us."

"Oh, thank you so much, Ginny, I'll be there in a minute." Hermione said hurriedly and she stood up before she stepped through the flames. A second later she was in a huge house at Godrics Hollow, with Ginny before her eyes.

"What happened?" Ginny asked gently and gave Hermione a hug. "You sounded rather worried about something."

"I'll tell you everything, Ginny, but can we sit somewhere? I feel quite dizzy." Hermione said lowly and put her cold fingertips on her temples. Ginny took her gently by the arm and guided her towards a cozy armchair. The redhead sat on the sofa next to her.

"Do you want a glass of water or something?" she asked anxiously. Hermione took a deep breath and shook her head gently.

"No, I'm better now." She whispered and looked unsurely at Ginny.

"So, what's wrong, Hermione? Because I can tell for sure that something's wrong with you!" she exclaimed and continued more carefully. "There was another row with my brother?"

"I would be grateful if there was a row, Ginny." Hermione said with vaguely desperate voice. Ginny's eyes widened.

"Wh- What are you talking about?" Ginny cried out. Hermione shook her head again.

"Let me tell you everything from the beginning, ok? And please, don't interrupt me, when I'm finished, you can ask me whatever you want, ok?" the older woman said tiredly. Ginny nodded vigorously.

"Ok then." Hermione took a deep breath and she began, "For over two months now, Ron is being rather weird. Mostly towards me." She looked at her hands with interest. "He's being workaholic, actually much more than usual. He comes at home very late and he goes straight to bed. After that, he's lost so much weight because he barely eats at home- and I'm almost certain that he doesn't eat at work, either.

And then, there is also our relationship. Even as friends we were closer than _this_! I mean, he barely speaks to me; he doesn't kiss me or touch me as much… I mean… He doesn't even look me in the eye! Like… like he's afraid of something terrible happening if he does…. I cannot understand his behavior, Ginny, it's horrible. And… and when I'm trying to speak with him and possibly find out what's wrong, he always says that nothing's wrong, but he even can't persuade himself about it! I'm afraid, Ginny…. Did- Did I make anything w-wrong?" Hermione finally said and tears shed out from her eyes as her breathing was coming out as gasps. Ginny in an instant, was kneeling next to her.

"Oh, Hermione, don't worry, we'll find a way to sort this out, ok?" she whispered soothingly and hugged her warmly. Hermione tried to nod. "That's it. Hermione Granger never gives up, does she?"

"N-No." she laughed lightly, while she was wiping her tears off her cheeks. "That's why I wanted to come to you, Ginny, so you could maybe help me with this."

"Of course I'll help you!" Ginny exclaimed and smiled brightly and reassuringly at her friend. "Now, can I ask you something about your relationship?" When Hermione nodded, Ginny continued: "Do you… I mean to say… do you have any sex?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Not at all. For almost three months now." She whispered with a bit of shame apparent in her voice. Ginny's eyes widened immediately.

"What?" she gasped shocked, but when she saw her friend's hurt expression, she tried to calm down a bit. "Have you tried to do something about it?"

"Yes; at first I tried to 'warm' him a bit, but he never responded to it. I offered him hot baths and rubs, which he just couldn't resist once, but now he refuses to participate in any kind of affectionate things between us. I even once, as I couldn't stand the situation anymore, asked him straight-forward to come with me and have _you know_, but he said that _he wasn't in the_ _mood to do so_! I just felt so embarrassed, Ginny…" she said with shame still evident in her tone. Ginny seemed to be utterly shocked with her friend's words.

"He said _that_?" she cried out with slight disgust, combined with surprise, in her voice. "I can't believe he excused himself with _that shit_!" Hermione nodded weakly.

"I really don't have any idea what came over him." She thought for a few long moments before speaking again; this time her unsure, almost fragile, voice was practically an inaudible whisper: "I've thought once… I mean… what if I was cold towards him I didn't realize it? And what if he… he's c-cheating on me?"

Ginny's eyes almost left their sockets. "Are you _serious_?" she exclaimed and shook her a bit, as if by doing this, she would make her see more clearly. "Ron cannot possibly cheat on you! He loves you so terribly much; if there was _even a tiny chance _of doing this to you, he would kill himself immediately. And if he didn't do that either, Harry and I would make sure not to let him see the end of it, Hermione!" the last comment made Hermione smile softly and feel a bit of relief inside her. "Besides, look at the facts, Hermione! You said that he's at work all day and he looks sort of depressed and not in a mood to do _anything _with you. If he ever had the guts to cheat on you constantly, he would actually be more cheerful; he would take care of his appearance- which he probably doesn't, as he doesn't seem to care less about losing weight- and most important, _he would make sure _not _to get _you_ suspicious." _When Ginny saw that Hermione's attention was entirely on her now, she continued a bit more confidently: "That means that he would try to make all the kind of favors you would imagine; he would give you presents without any reason at all, _'just to see you happy', _he would take you on really romantic dates at expensive restaurants or something, and probably he would shag you a bit, just not to make sure you wouldn't be suspicious at all. But what does all _your Ron _do? Working and losing weight and not being in the mood for sex or anything else that contains affection and _being a moron_! Well, I know that this kind of attitude is not at all welcoming and bearable, but there is no hint of attempt to hide cheating in it."

Hermione looked at her carefully and then nodded rather vividly. "You're probably right; I shouldn't blame him for something like that. But what could it be?" she looked desperately at the woman next to her "He might possibly lost any interest in me; he probably doesn't love me anymore."

"I really don't believe it's that." Ginny spoke out her thoughts. "He probably has problems with work and he's not trying to be a bit more cheerful with you and easy down; he just let his stress run him down."

"And what should I do to bring my old, adorable Ron back?" Hermione asked quite impatiently. "Ginny, I'm serious when I'm telling you this: I can't stand being so distant with him, I want a happy life with him and I couldn't possibly bear to lose him." She said with pure sadness coming pouring out from her. "I want my Ron back."

_-Flashback:_

_Hermione was at the living room, reading with interest the novel she had bought just this afternoon. Her eyes were shining with joy and were traveling restlessly across the hundreds of lines. With eagerness to find out that was going to happen next, she didn't even notice her husband entering the house. When he glanced at her, he smiled brightly and his eyes shined with pure love. He went soundlessly behind the sofa she was sitting on (of course she hadn't noticed him yet) and gazed at her with a look full of admiration for a moment, before he leaned slowly next to her ear and whispered soothingly: "Miss me?"_

_Hermione squeaked and the book was cast on the air before falling with a soft 'thud!' on the floor. Ron chuckled softly and Hermione glared at him._

"_Ron! How many times have I told you not doing this?" she cried out and Ron pouted his lip._

"_But, Mione, I don't like it when a stupid book vanquishes me like that; my ego's starting to wonder if I'm really as unbearably handsome as you so often claim." he teased and Hermione thought to play along with it._

"_Then you should tell your big ego not to believe whatever it hears; most possibly it's just sucking up."_

_He faked a shocking gasp and let his huge, sapphire eyes widen. "Is that so? I-It's just a game to you? Just some sucking up to me, so you could be extremely famous and rich?" he said with artificial hurt in his voice. Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted lightly. Ron laughed gently and kissed her cheek soundly._

"_But I really mean it when I say that I don't like you being so engrossed in a book, so you can't even notice that the most wonderful, good-looking human being is in the same room with you and needs some love… and maybe some food." he added when they heard his stomach rumble rather loudly. She laughed and he blushed lightly. _

"_You're pretty lucky your permanently unsatisfied stomach is complaining again, otherwise you would receive a not-so-gentle hit on your arm, for your not-so-humble words." Hermione replied, but kissed her husband on the rosy cheek. She stood up and he followed suit. Then he bent down to pick her book up from the wooden floor. He examined its cover curiously for a mere second, as he was following her to the kitchen. _

"_Why the heck do you like it?" he asked her with curiosity and a hint of annoyance apparent in his voice. She looked at him excited._

"_But it's one of the most breathtaking books I've ever read! It's about-" she started but Ron immediately cut her off._

"_Got it, got it! You really like it!" he said hurriedly and put it gently on the table, before he drew close to her with a soft smile on his face. "You should consider about ditching me and eloping with it; it seems to make you more excited than I can do" he teased and she gave him a shove. "Hey! What was that for?" he asked, pretending to be furious, but failing miserably._

"_You really deserved that one, Mr. Weasley; you came home having a very sharp taste for teasing."_

"_Whatever" he murmured impatiently and he crashed his mouth to hers. She immediately started kissing him back with need underlying her actions; a need that matched his own. She pulled away a minute later._

"_What about your stomach?" she panted hard and looked him intensely into his navy blue eyes. _

"_I'm sure it can wait for some time; there are more… urgent needs than food right now." Ron said slyly as he was panting hard himself. His wife smiled slyly and snaked her arms around his neck._

"_What do you have in this mind of yours, Mr. Weasley?" she said flirtatiously. He smiled seductively._

"_A few things I really crave to do, Mrs. Weasley; do you want to join me?"_

"_I would be delightful, Mr. Weasley." Hermione said in a mere whisper that held undying passion and love, and they rushed into their bedroom short after that, forgetting all about teasing and books and food…_

_-End of Flashback._

Hermione exhaled slowly and looked at Ginny expectantly; remembering happier times of her marriage made her sadder and more desperate to sort this out. Ginny looked at her sadly for some odd minutes and suddenly her face lit up.

"I think I've just found the perfect idea of how to seduce my brother and finally bring him to his senses!" she said brightly and looked at her friend with shining eyes. Hermione seemed curious and grateful at the same time.

"Really?" she seemed vaguely impatient. "What is it?"

"Ok, listen to the plan…" Ginny said more seriously now and started explaining her idea.

* * *

_-Well, I really hope you like it! Actually, it was a bit of fun for me to write this one, with all the irony at this part of the dialogue between the two friends..._

_-Ok now, I know you know what I want...! FEEDBACK! That would be awesome!_

_-And I'll try to update as soon as possible! Until then... xxx :)_


	6. Temporary Out Of Pain

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story; I really hope you'll enjoy it!

This chapter isn't as depressing as the previous ones and actually there won't be another_ really_ derpessing chapters, except for one more- which I believe won't be so sad as the other ones, as it would be more... Anyway, probably you have to see that for yourself! :)

This chapter takes place **3 months after the incident at Alfred's house- **1,5 month after chapter 4. (I hope it's not confusing or something...)

After that, I'd like to thank you for the few reviews the chapters have received so far and I really hope I won't disappoint you...

Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you read. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Temporary Out Of Pain~_

Ron came from work exhausted and thinking again- for what it seemed to be the zillionth time- about the only thing his mind was letting him to. He entered to his house with his head dropped down; his eyes were staring at his old pair of leather shoes all the time. But the careful observation of the shoelaces was abruptly interrupted by rich, pleasant scents. He looked around at the hall and he noticed with surprise that the atmosphere in the place seemed different. More… balmy… He was quite curious about what was going on.

He heard hurried, but still graceful, steps which sounded louder and louder as the mere seconds passed, and a moment later, Hermione was before his eyes. When she saw him, she smiled warmly.

"Hello, Ron." she said with a homely, pleasant tone that instantly warmed his cold insides. But her tone wasn't the one thing that surprised him as much as her appearance: she was wearing a lilac camisole (one that Ron had never seen her wearing before) and a pair of white, rather tight and really short shorts, which made her beautiful, pale legs look longer. Her bushy locks of hair were in a messy bun, from which a few golden curls had escaped and that made her so amazingly perfect in Ron's eyes. She also had a little touch of make-up on her face that made it glow with flawless beauty. Ron thought vividly that if Venus was right there, next to his wife, she would run away with her tail between her legs; there was absolutely no one that would outshine his Hermione this very moment- she was downright stunning.

Probably he was standing there, just gazing at this beautiful angel before him, for some time, without responding to her greeting, so she spoke again: "What happened?" she asked with slight curiosity, but a rather confident smile was apparent on her full, red lips. He swallowed nervously, so he could wet his extremely dry mouth and throat.

"Nothing" he said as casually as he could. He glanced at the room around him and then back at Hermione. She took his free hand gently (because on the other one he was holding his paper-case) and guided him to the living room. Ron was stunned when he saw the almost inexistent light in it; the only sources of light were the stray joss-sticks all around the room and the quite large fire. He turned his head towards his wife, who seemed satisfied with the whole scenery, with a quizzical look on his face.

"Happy Valentine's Day" she whispered lovingly in his ear, explaining at the same time the existence of such 'decoration' in the house; he felt a wave of heat and welcoming warmth washing him. He looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry; I totally forgot about it…" he whispered nervously and looked at the wooden floor with embarrassment evident on his physiognomy. She smiled at him reassuringly.

"It's ok, darling" she whispered and caressed his cold cheek with her warm palm, so he would look at her. "I don't really want a gift or something for today, but it would be lovely if you could just do me a little favor." Her voice was still a cute whisper and as she was saying these words, her hands were at his neckband in an affectionate way. "Just stay with me so we could have dinner together; I don't think it's that bad- just having some of the dinner I made _just for you, Ronnie dear…_"

He gulped nervously, not really knowing what he should do. "I-I don't know, Mione…" he said unsurely. Hermione got worried instantly, but she didn't show it.

"Oh, please, Ron… Just spending the night with me… We haven't eaten together in what it seems to be ages! It's just some eating and talking, that's all." she reassured sweetly, but she knew better than this; if she just managed to convince him…

"Ok then" he said coyly and looked at her unsurely "Can I at least have a shower before? And wearing something more comfortable?" he asked like a 5-year old boy. He wanted to postpone this dinner of theirs to as far as he could, so he would be calmer and more prepared for the upcoming encounter. His lovely wife smiled up to him.

"Of course, dear. I'll be here, waiting for you to come." She said balmy and the warmth was, once again, evident inside him. He nodded once and went upstairs to take a quick shower and prepare himself.

…

He slowly climbed down the stairs, not sure what it was about to happened. The strong, bad feelings inside him warned him to be distant with her, but convincing as well, so he wouldn't draw any suspicious. When he reached the living room, he looked searchingly around the cozy room, looking for his wonderful wife, but there was no sign of her in there.

"Mione?" he said softly and, with actually no reason, a bit worryingly.

"I'm in the dining room, love" he heard her melodic voice echoing into his ears like a soft, soothing lullaby; he wanted to sleep, to close his tired eyes calmly and drift into peaceful sleep…

He went to the dining room and saw Hermione lighting some candles, which were resting elegantly on two crystal candlesticks on the wooden table. When she got a glimpse of him, she smiled brightly- that made Ron shift nervously.

"There you are!" she whispered happily and approached him slowly "For a mere moment I seriously thought you got trapped in the bathroom or something!" she laughed sweetly and he followed suit, but his one was nervous.

"Sorry" he murmured shyly and a pink colour appeared on his cheekbones. Hermione smiled reassuringly.

"No worries, love; besides I wanted to put some finishing touches on our dinner." she explained and pointed at the full surface of the table. "Come on then." she urged him gently and went to what it seemed to be her seat. Ron mirrored her movements and went and sat on his chair. He glanced over the table and for the first time he noticed that every food there was on this table, was one of his favourites: boiled potatoes, chicken pie and pasta with white sauce. He hadn't seen so much food for what it seemed to be decades, and even though in his mind he wanted to taste each of his wife's dishes, he was utterly sure that his stomach wouldn't be able to bear big amounts of food.

"I thought I should make some of your favourites." Hermione said, although it wasn't necessary. Ron nodded and attempted to smile a little. She smiled back.

"Thank you, but I don't really think there was a need to do so, Hermione." he replied softly and looked at the porcelain plate in front of him. She shook her head vividly.

"No way; we hadn't be able to spend much time together lately and I believed we should make up for it tonight." she explained casually and Ron felt terrible for this; with her so sweet words she wanted to make him understand that she didn't actually want such an unnerving routine again. And, of course, he wasn't so sure about being able to guarantee such a thing to her- so he just nodded.

"Come on then! I presume you must be starving!" she exclaimed and nodded towards the delicious food. Ron examined it for a moment, thinking what he should do about it, and finally took a rather thin piece of chicken pie and put it on his plate, just staring at it intensely. Hermione seemed confused with his behavior.

"What's wrong, Ron? Something's wrong with the pie?"

Ron looked carefully at her slight hurt expression; he shouldn't consider the pain and the warnings he would receive later. He should make her feel happy and satisfied with herself and not at all worried about him, even though that would last only some moments. "Nothing's wrong with the pie, hon; it looks and smells delicious. I just think about work." He said a spurious excuse and saw her knitted her eyebrows.

"Just… please, just let's forget about work and our problems for now, shall we?" she asked gently and caressed his hand, which was resting on the table, with hers. Ron cleared his throat softly and nodded, showing his approval. She smiled brightly and nodded back, before starting eating some of her pasta. Ron looked again at his chicken pie and after gulping and taking a deep breath, he took with slightly trembling hands, his fork and his knife, he cut slowly a small piece and munched it slowly.

"What do you think of it?" Hermione asked him expectantly without looking at him. Ron stared at her profile for a brief moment before answering.

"It's lovely, sweetie." he said softly and he saw her head jerked and looked at him with shining eyes and a stunning smile on her face, making her look like the most beautiful angel. He was glad that such a simple compliment and him telling her 'sweetie' again after a long time, made her so, so happy. And he wanted to see her happy again. He really wanted that. And he actually didn't care what it would cost _him _by doing that; he would just do anything to see her happier again. And one of the first things he had to do to achieve that _correctly _was that he should tell her the truth soon… As soon as possibly feasible.

He tried to eat a bit more, but it was quite a task now, with his stomach being used to almost no food at all. But seeing the smile and the glow on Hermione's face growing more and more, brighter and brighter, he pushed himself on finishing his slice of pie and also eating a spoonful of potatoes. He took a sip of his red wine and talked with his Mione more; losing himself completely in the various conversations he had all this time with her was something he had totally forgotten. He fully understood how much he had missed spending time with her now; how much he missed seeing the shining depths of her lovely, dark brown orbs or observing her flawless face, taking his time to examine every little detail on it. He missed _her_.

"Oof! I'm full, Mione." he said and noticed a moment later that his tone was… _carefree. Light_… He also felt a smile- a _real, rather happy _smile- on his lips. Hermione seemed to notice that too and she beamed at him.

"But you barely ate!" she exclaimed teasingly, but the fact didn't seem to bother her much. "But you really must try the chocolate mousse I made!" she continued happily and stood up instantly. Ron stood up as well and looked at her with astonishment evident in his huge, crystal blue eyes.

"You made chocolate mousse too? Why did you take all this trouble to make a dinner? You know, I feel terrible for not bringing you a present or something…"

"Shush, love." she said immediately and came and stood next to him, putting her fingertips on his red lips. "I really don't want a _tangible _present to be happy, Ron. I'm so glad we're spending time together; this is the most valuable present for me, my Ronnie, and thank you for giving it to me, even though you didn't _hand it over._" She smiled softly and he smiled back, his cheeks turning pink from the really small distance between them.

"Thank you, too, sweetie." he whispered softly and he looked her deeply in her eyes, examining the almond-like shape of them and warm colour that always made his knees feeling weak. He was so engrossed on her eyes that he didn't actually notice that he was able to look at her straight in the eye again, without feeling any pain. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" he whispered coyly. She smiled shyly and blushed.

"Thank you." Ron then noticed her full, red lips; they were so… so…

_And they were coming closer to his…_

He instantly stepped back, while he was clearing his throat audibly and looked at the floor awkwardly; he didn't dare to look at her face. She stayed silent for a minute, still standing before him, and then she cleared softly her throat too.

"Why don't you go at the living room and wait for me? It'd be more comfortable to have our dessert there." she suggested gently. Ron looked at her hesitantly.

"Don't you want me to help you? Washing the dishes or something?" he offered softly, not wanting her to do all the work and him not helping at all. Hermione shook her head vividly.

"No! You go and wait at the living room for me and the dessert, ok?" she demanded teasingly but a smile was on her face. She came closer to him and pushed him gently out of the room and towards the living room. He did what she told him and went slowly to the cozy room and sat on the beige sofa, looking around at the room. The atmosphere was somewhat balm and sensual, but for some unexpected reason, it made him feel calm. He took a deep breath to smell the vaguely intoxicating perfumes of the candles: vanilla and cinnamon- a deadly match for him. He let his eyelids close and let himself be a part of the warm environment; he didn't want to be a strong contrast of all these.

Some minutes later, he heard light footsteps coming closer and closer to him and then weight added to the empty space next to him. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head slightly, so he could see Hermione; in her hands there were two goblets of red wine and a crystal bowl full of chocolate mousse. She handed him the bowl and put the one goblet on the coffee table in front of them. She took a small sip of her wine and looked at Ron affectionately.

"Come on; I want to know what you think about it." she urged him gently and smiled.

"Don't you have any?" he asked gently as he now noticed the absence of a second bowl of mousse. She shook her head softly.

"No, I'm fine actually; I made it especially for you- I know how much you adore chocolate mousse…" she said lowly and crossed her legs in front of her. He nodded and tasted a spoonful of his dessert; immediately his eyes half-closed and he sighed from the taste.

"This is amazing, Mione." Ron commented absentmindedly and he slowly took another spoonful. She looked at him curiously.

"Seriously?" she asked gently. When he nodded vigorously, she leaned closer to him and dipped her index finger in the mousse and then licked it cleaned. She moaned with delight and half-closed her eyes for a second, before opening them again, and gazed at him. "You're right; this mousse is downright… pleasurable."

Ron felt his eyes widen unconsciously, as he was starring with tension and somewhat awe, his wife. Had she just done _this_? His mind was totally blank; the only thing he could repeat in his head was this intoxicating movement of hers, the sweet words that came out of her lips… oh, her lips…

"What's wrong, Ronnie?" she asked gently when he didn't bother to give some sort of reply. He shook his head, just to be able to think straight again.

"Everything's ok, Hermione" he reassured her in an instant and he ate some more of his dessert. Every once in a while, he would glance at her out of the tail of his eye, as she was sipping her wine or talking warmly and affectionately to him. But his eyes would usually rest on her sweet lips, which were now blood-red from the wine, and he would think that they were so irresistibly beautiful and intoxicating, so… so _perfectly kissable_…

He gulped hard and banned himself on thinking such forbidden things. He hurriedly took his goblet and drank a big mouthful of his wine. Then he looked unsurely at his wife again and she leaned again closer to him. She dipped again her finger in the chocolate and then she licked it. He starred at her, without knowing what to do with the sensations he hadn't felt for such a long time, and now were aroused again: _passion, sensuality, lust…_

"You're sure you don't want some for yourself?" he choked out lowly. She nodded her head casually and shifted really close to him, making herself more comfortable and at the same time, making him more _un_comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm certain about it." she answered back simply.

"Are you sure?" he pressed on gently, so he would be able to take his mind away from her beautiful form, her smooth skin, her sexy curves… "I have no problem giving you the rest of it."

"No, Ronnie dear, you can have it; I just want to taste some; do you have any problem with it?" she said and took another small portion of chocolate with her fingertip and licked it off slowly. He swallowed hard as he was staring weakly at her slightly swollen lips, while the faint echoes of her voice telling him flirtatiously '_Ronnie dear_' were still audible in his ears. He felt really weak and full of emotions he had thought he would never be able to have ever again.

He shoved hurriedly another, rather big, spoonful of his dessert into his mouth, so the cool sensation onto his tongue would probably cool him down a bit. He looked nervously at her, who was, at the moment, eyeing him vaguely erotically and then a small, somewhat sly, smile appeared on her lips, making them on his eyes, even more irresistible.

"You've got a bit of chocolate in here." she laughed softly and the melodic sound rang in his ears. She stopped laughing and looked at him steadily. "Let me help you with this…"

Before he had the chance to say a single word, she leaned down to him and licked a bit of chocolate that covered the corner of his mouth. He gasped softly, as he immediately felt his stomach hot and clenched. Hermione pulled away just a couple of millimeters of him, so they would be able to see each other in the eye. Ron took a glance of the bright orbs for a millisecond, before he turned his gaze at her half-opened lips; they looked perfect, angelic and… probably… kind of… _thirsty…_

_He had to quench this thirst…_

He crashed his lips to hers without thinking much of it; he didn't care of the pain and the consequences- he had actually forgotten all of them. He kissed her passionately and she instantly responded to his kisses, kissing him with equal passion and longing. They kissed for some long minutes before they pulled apart for a mere moment, just to take a breath and continue with much more lust and heat in their movements. Her hands instantly snaked around his neck and entwined at the back of his head. He moaned in anticipation and pulled her closer to him, letting his big hands wander around her petite body, memorizing once again every curve of it. She pulled away a bit and looked at him feverishly. He panted hard and looked her with fire in his eyes. He unsurely leaned his head closer to hers, their noses brushed softly together, as one set of blue eyes never lost contact with the one of brown orbs. He captured softly her lower lip with the two of his, and sucked it gently. She sighed and that made him eager to keep on. He left her lower lip a minute later, only to kiss her lips once again, this time more slowly, but with the undying passion still evident in every little move of theirs. They lost themselves in the almost forgotten actions, in the rapidly growing heat and strong longing of theirs. He marked her neck, showing to her that there was still desire and care for her inside him; that he had never lost such strong feelings for her, that he would never let them fade or disappear. He cared for her. He loved her.

Without realizing how, they managed to reach their bedroom before they started to take off whichever article of clothing they would reach with their restless hands. Ron gently pushed her down onto their bed and lay on top of her, with his elbows resting near each of her sides. He stopped kissing on her collarbone and looked passionately, yet lovingly, at her, trying to tell her all sorts of things his mouth wasn't able to pronounce. A small smile flickered on her swollen lips and he sighed with mere satisfaction, before he kissed her again on the lips, letting himself fill with fulfilling emotions of bliss and completion… Yes, he felt _complete, whole _again; she was the biggest part of him, without any hint of doubt.

Their love making was above any other time they had made love, even better than their very first time; but that wasn't because of the sensual pleasure or the lust of the flesh- well, that was only a small part of it-, but mostly because of the muster of all these undivulged emotions they both had forgotten they could so strongly feel. After both reaching their climax, Ron let himself lay completely on her and rested his forehead on hers. He ever so slowly, half-opened his huge eyes and looked quite tiredly at the beauty under his sweaty body. With his fingers, he gently removed a few curls from her forehead and he saw her opening her eyes slowly. They stared steadily and calmly at each other for a few seconds and then Ron started covering with gentle feather-kisses all her angelic face: her cheekbones, her jaw line, the little spot under her earlobes, her eyelids, her temples, her forehead…

"I love you." Hermione said as he was kissing the top of her nose. He stayed still with his lips still on her skin for a short moment, trying to take in her words, before he looked her deeply and carefully. He brushed his nose affectionately with hers and he still looked deeply in her beautiful eyes as he whispered almost inaudibly:

"I-I love you, too."

Hermione smiled tenderly up to him and they kissed softly and dearly for a long moment. After that, Ron heaved himself off her and lay on the empty, rather cold space on the bed next to her. She immediately turned on her side, so she could face him more clearly; a bright smile lit up her face prettily.

"That was… that was like a dream. Wonderful… I haven't ever been able to believe that we would make love more perfectly that we've already had." Hermione whispered lovingly and leaned closer to him, resting her palm on his bare torso. He turned his gaze from the white ceiling to observe her closely, to fully understand her words; his brain seemed not to function properly, to be totally blank.

Hermione was on the bed. He was on the bed, too, but he didn't pretend to be asleep this time. Hermione was staring at him with her bright eyes and he felt like he was fifteen again, with restless butterflies on his stomach.

Then he noticed that she was nude; from the cool air caressing his skin and made him shiver for a second, he realized that he was also in nude. He searched his mind anxiously, trying hard to remember her words and listening to their memory carefully; he wanted to understand…

"_That was… that was like a dream. Wonderful… I haven't ever been able to believe that we would make love more perfectly that we've already had." _

_Make love… Make love… Wonderful… What happened?_

He tried not to show his complete confusion on his face, so she wouldn't understand a thing. He felt her leaning even closer to him and he heard a buzzing noise in his head, like an alert or something similar to it. He instantly grew away from her suddenly threatening form.

"Ron dear, what's wrong? You're extremely pale." Hermione asked worriedly and tried to touch his sweaty face with her palm, but he distanced himself even more.

"I want to go downstairs for a bit; taking a shower after that." he managed to say with his slightly shaky voice.

"But..." Hermione seemed really confused "But we always cuddle afterwards." she whispered and blushed hard. "You always love cuddling with me afterwards." She seemed hurt now. He couldn't do anything right now to prevent this, though; he was in so much confusion at the moment to think of anything else.

"I still love cuddling with you, love" he told her the truth soothingly, so he could calm her down a bit. "But I want to go downstairs for a bit; I feel a bit sick."

"Sick?" Hearing the particular word made her alarmed at once; Ron shook his head gently.

"Don't worry; it's really nothing to worry about- probably a cold or something like that." He tried to make his voice sound calmative, so he wouldn't upset her more, and it seemed to have the desirable effects: Hermione observed him carefully for a moment before nodding with understanding.

"Just talk to me if you need anything, ok? I'll be waiting for you." she whispered soothingly and kissed him on the forehead. He wore his pajama pants and glanced at his wife before he stepped out of the bedroom, making already his way towards the living room. When he reached the place, he looked around searchingly, trying to find any clue that would make him understand what had happened that night between him and his lovely Mione.

He saw the dying flames of a fire and on the coffee table there were two goblets with some red wine, and a crystal bowl with something smooth and brown in it.

_Chocolate mousse._

In a tick, he remembered Hermione licking some mousse off of his lips. And then he wasn't able to resist anymore; he had given in the so perfectly powerful emotions she had caused him after so much time; once again he had felt whole, powerful, _owner of his own life…_ He knew he didn't regret this; he wasn't able to regret this. The only thing he regretted was cheating on his wife. That was his terrible mistake. This was the cause of all this depression and pain and bleeding wounds inside him. He should have to deal with it as soon as possible. He had to tell her. It's said that truth did set you free or something; he had to try and find out. But not now; now he wanted to sleep, after all this sleepless nights, he wanted to finally sleep for a few hours, to rest his body and his worn out mind.

He wanted some peace.

* * *

_- I really hope you enjoy this chapter; I'd like to know about your opinion by sending me some FEEDBACK! That would be spectacular, actually..._

_- And I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... xxx :)_


	7. Therapy

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story! This one was rather hard to write and I should actually warn you that it's kind of hard and probably violent or something... I don't really know; probably you've to read it and find out...!

After that, I'd like to thank you for the few reviews, and I hope this chapter, as well as this story in general, reaches your expectations and makes you like (or something similar...) the story...

Anyway, I'll let you read now... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Therapy~_

**3 weeks later **(a.n.: after Valentine's Day)

Ron woke up with a startle and looked at the ceiling with his wide eyes full of fear. He exhaled loudly and glanced at the clock on the night-stand next to him. _7 o' clock. _He stared at the clock fingers for a brief second before he stood up immediately and started wearing his clothes extremely slowly, thinking about the plans he had arranged for that particular day; they made him feel nervous and anxious.

He looked his awful reflection on the mirror and he wanted to grimace with disgust; on the other hand, he wanted to smile weakly at the wonky figure before his eyes- he was going to put an end to it. _Today._

He climbed down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen. Hermione was drinking her coffee and was engrossed reading her newspaper. He stood near the doorframe, looking at her peaceful, angelic form. He had to put an end to this.

Hermione probably sensed his presence, because her eyes stopped scanning the leaflet in front of her; yeah, a moment later she was looking at him happily.

"Good morning, darling." she said gladly "How're you feeling?"

"Better, thank you." he said politely and after taking a mug from the cupboard and filling it with bitter coffee, he sat next to her.

"Oh, I feel quite relieved now; that massive headache of yours scared me a lot last night!" she exclaimed seriously. He nodded vividly.

"Yeah, I know…" he murmured and thought about the last night's headache: well, it actually was an 'attack' from his 'controllers', who once again, did find it really amusing to 'play' with his emotions…

Yeah, that's right; the whole _powerful, free _thing he had felt that fateful night, had disappeared with the same speed it had appeared: mere seconds. The morning after Valentine's Day, Ron had forgotten all about powerfulness and freedom- he was once again a slave of his sentiments. He instantly forgot the sweet, perfect memory- all he could make out from the flawless night was regret and more, much more mistakes. But of course, 'controllers' were more specific this time about the punishment, they wanted something more than before; no more useless beating and insulting for some odd minutes, no. They knew exactly what they wanted from him, they had organized it for three weeks now- and of course, he was going to carry out any kind of orders he was going to be given.

They drank their coffees in rather unusual silence, but it didn't seem to bother them much. Hermione was reading carefully random articles, while Ron was staring at her, examining every single detail of her face. After some long moments, he decided to stand up.

"I have to go." he whispered and looked seriously at his wife. She looked up to him and smiled.

"Ok, honey." she replied softly. Ron looked at her for a moment before bending down and embraced her rather tightly.

"Bye, sweetie." His voice was almost inaudible and slightly hoarse. "I'll miss you." He inhaled deeply, taking in her wonderful scent and trying to memorize it. She smiled softly and pulled gently away from his embrace, so she could look at his huge orbs with her bright ones.

"Oh, I'll miss you too, love." she said lovingly and pecked him on the lips. He closed his eyes briefly and then he kissed her forehead protectively, before he stood up again.

"Bye." he said again and she waved at him affectionately.

"Have a nice day at work!" she said in a sing-song voice and he swallowed hard, but he nodded nonetheless, before he disappeared from her visibility range and hurried towards the fireplace.

…

Ron had been at his office for over three hours, pacing back and forth, with his sweaty, shaky hands on his head and his incomprehensible mumbles filling the air. He didn't exactly know if he should do it- was it surely the right thing to do?

'_**Of course it's the right thing to do, you idiot!' **_the imperious voice inside his head, which always ordered and insulted him, told him _**'Do you honestly think you should do something else? Do you have something in this stupid mind of yours? Any ideas, maybe?' **_

Ron felt a painful jolt in his chest and he moaned painfully. "No! I've no i-ideas." he hissed with pain and grabbed the wooden surface of his desk, so he would be able to stay on his foot.

'_**That's right, Weasley, because you know you don't deserve any pity or mercy… You did so many mistakes and you deserve what you're going to do to yourself, am I right, Weasley?'**_

"Y-Yes." Ron whispered and some salty droplets escaped from his eyelids' firm shutting.

'_**That's right, Weasley… You know what you have to do; this is just a matter of time now.'**_

Ron nodded to no one and sobbed heavily, letting more tears escaping from his closed eyes. "I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this." he kept on saying so the prospect would seem more appealing and right; but, frankly, he knew it was right, there was no other way to stop this madness, this unstoppable series of huge mistakes he was making without thinking at all. He had to stop this.

_He had to die. And he would._

He took his wand from his desk and cast a locking and a silencing charm on the room. Then he raised his wand at the height of his eyes and peered at it closely.

'_**That's right, you moron… All you need is in this piece of wood… Your punishment is just some words away- but don't forget! You must have the most painful of sufferings, did I make myself clear?'**_

Ron nodded again and put gently his wand on the desk. He felt fear in his blood that was rushing in his throbbing veins. He wasn't sure yet. What if he had to do something else?

The shooting pains on his chests warned him to stop having such ridiculous thoughts in his head and that made him surer and surer that this was the less wrong thing he could do at the moment.

'_**Exactly, Weasley; that's the righter thing you can do at the moment. You've done all these horrible things these past months, so you should do something useful at the moment- relieving the others from your unworthy presence- because that's what you are, Weasley: a piece of unworthy, dead meat. You deserve nothing- no one's care or love, especially your wife's! You're NOTHING, Weasley!'**_

Ron sobbed uncontrollably as he let his tears shed freely on his skinny face. He deserved this, otherwise he wouldn't do it. He deserved this punishment; he hurt so many people, he deserved this…

Suddenly, he heard of another voice in his head- not a harsh, mean one; this one was soothing and calm and in an instant, it made him feel more peaceful:

'_But, what about the people who love you?' _the soothing voice whispered softly _'If they learn about your death, they will feel terrible; what about them, then? Do you want to do this to them? To your family? Or, what about Harry and your other friends? What about Hermione?' _the voice said calmly, but yet, with a bit of sadness as well.

Ron thought about it for a moment. He didn't want to hurt anyone, specifically Hermione. So… that meant that… that this was the wrong thing? Shouldn't he do it?

'_**Don't be ridiculous as always, Weasley!' **_the imperious voice made him shiver once again _**'If you don't do this, you'll be extremely sorry for yourself; you'll make everyone else suffer along with you, and that would be ENTIRELY your fault! Do you want this?'**_

Ron shook his head painfully; all these voices seemed to be right and at the same time, so wrong… He felt confused; he didn't know what to do… He didn't…

He glanced at the enormous surface of his desk, and something shiny drew his attention immediately; looking at it intensely, madness and anger overwhelm him and he knew what he ought to do. He slowly took it in his hand and examined it closely. Then he knew he had to do and how to do it.

He brought the delicate paper-knife close to his wrist; his eyes were shining with tears and expectancy for relief. But the silver object didn't make it to its destination; the harsh voice was evident in his head again.

'_**What you think you're doing, you fool! Do you forget about the letter?'**_

Ron felt ashamed for forgetting such a huge part of the plan so easily. He immediately dropped the paper-knife and looked around at the desk for some paper and a quill

'_**Write, you jerk! Write her everything, with every single detail- she deserves to know the truth; she had to know all the indescribable things you've done to her. Quickly, write down everything!'**_

He wrote with his shaky hands everything, while he was sobbing and crying and taking in every insult his 'controllers' could think of. He wrote all the things he shouldn't have done to her; he wrote how sorry he was for giving up their marriage like this, for giving in to the temptation he should actually have resisted; he wrote how much he loved her- if that meant anything at the particular moment to her. He simply wrote down his soul, his pain, his love, _his remorse_…

When he finished writing his long letter, he folded as neatly as he could, and wrote slowly and carefully her name on it, before he gently put it somewhere where it could be found rather easily. He didn't want to leave her and not giving her any explanations; the way he did it might hurt or be harsh, but she really deserved the truth, and he would make sure to ensure her that.

He looked at his office for a minute, calling to mind all the good, efficient work he had done in there- healing wounds and scars, treating various infections, supporting people and giving them hope once again, giving prescriptions and considering effective therapies.

_But he couldn't heal his wounds now; he couldn't give back to himself his lost hope… But he had found a therapy…_

He slowly, and with trembling hands, took off his shirt and looked down at his thin chest and at the bones that were faded in under the pale skin. Then he looked searchingly at the desk in front of him and when his eyes lay on the paper-knife, he took it with his fingers and stared at it for a short moment before he drew it close to his trembling body…

He screamed in pain and agony, as the silver blade made contact with the sensitive flesh, but he didn't give up; he cut himself more and more across his arms and hands; he slashed his shoulders, his chest and his abdomen, without giving in to his growing pain or showing mercy to himself; he was given the impression he deserved this, so he had no objections over it.

He continued cutting himself for some more minutes; his body was covered in an awful blend of scarlet liquid and sweat, while blood-red stains were in most of the beige carpet. He dropped absentmindedly the stained paper-knife on the floor and looked around for his wand. When he saw the stick lying on the wooden surface of his desk, he slowly attempted to reach it, as he was feeling dizzy and his legs seemed not to bear his weight anymore. After some minutes, when he finally managed to lean on the desk, he grabbed his wand and produced a pier-glass. He took a deep breath and straightened his back before he took a few steps and stood in front of it. He looked at his reflection closely, examining the extremely white skin, dusted with tiny freckles, the bones that he can see clearly under the almost non-existent flesh, the blood that still purred out of his numerous, deep cuts and scratches, the tired face. He smiled with some irony at the weak figure that looked exactly like him.

"Goodbye, Mr. Weasley…" Ron whispered with sarcastic politeness in his weak, hoarse voice and a moment later, he aimed his wand at the mirror.

"_Crucio_" Ron whispered huskily and the curse hit the glass with force, before it broke into millions of little pieces, and came back to him, hitting him on the chest. He screamed in utter pain and his back hit the floor a second later, but his wand was still aiming at his body; his hand never let the spell be broken by his unbearable pain. He screamed and screamed and screamed for some long moments, feeling the pain reaching even the deepest cell of his body like a poisonous, sharp, long knife that wouldn't let someone feel any relief or finding any sort of treatment for this venomous infection even after many years; it was just adding more suffering to the already existent; it was just there to help you wearing yourself out and dying ingloriously, having a bitter end…

When the curse wore off, Ron tried to take a breath and cast all the curses he could think of at the moment. If a curse was cast well, he would feel the pain he wanted to feel; if he didn't manage to accomplish it properly, well… the pain was even more unsufferable, to his utter satisfaction, yet desperation as well…

After an hour or so of unstoppable beating and cursing on himself, Ron's mind hadn't the strength to cast any other spells anymore. He dropped his arm and his wand rolled on the floor, but he didn't seem to observe that; the only thing his eyes could only see was a blur that was actually the ceiling. He felt something hot and wet on the back of his neck that was probably his own blood, but he didn't seem to mind at all; blood loss would make death only a matter of minutes, even seconds.

The annoying voices in his head were gone now and he was, after all these long months, alone again. He felt empty for a short moment, but then quite satisfied that he was free once again, even though that would last only some odd moments. But that didn't really occur to him; he kind of liked the mere freedom his exhausted soul felt at the precise moment…

He shifted his stung, wet, red eyes gently and focused his hearing on his weak heartbeats as much as he could. He felt his eyes almost unable to stay open much longer, but he managed not to let his eyelids drift close for some more. He sensed the beats of his heart lessen and lessen as the seconds passed, and his pulse was less strong now; he knew that the end was near; it was coming to take him…

Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat.

'_I hope death isn't as painful as this is. I want some rest now; could I possibly deserve it?'_

Beat. Beat. Beat.

'_It's getting closer and closer; I can feel it coming towards me…'_

Beat… Beat…

'_I'm not afraid of you; just come and take me…'_

Beat…

'_I love you, Hermione...'_

Beat…

'_Forever…'_

And Ron Weasley's eyes drifted close as he passed out merrily…

…

Sarah was with a small pack of paperwork and files on her arms, and headed towards Healer Weasley's office. When she reached the white door, she knocked softly and waited for the usual 'come in' from her boss on the other side of the wall. When none came, she knocked the door again, this time more loudly, and she said politely: "Mr. Weasley? May I come in?"

Again, no reply was evident. Sarah thought that probably the healer was in some room, supervising (even though she hadn't seen him leaving his office) and tried to open the door, only to find it locked. She tried again, this time more urgently, but the doorknob seemed to object to her tries. She quickly cast some unlocking spells (because only one wasn't effective at the moment) and opened the door hurriedly.

The files she had in her hands fell on the floor the moment the woman's eyes lay on the unconscious, covered in blood, form on the floor. She instantly started to scream shocked and frightened:

"HELP! HELP! SOMEONE'S TO COME AT HEALER WEASLEY'S OFFICE! HE'S DYING! HELP! HELP! HE'S DYING!" Her screams were heard at the whole floor but she didn't care; Ron Weasley was dying and he needed help immediately! She started crying and screaming at the same time, as some healers came to there, wanting to know what she was talking about, but their innocent questions were lost in midair as they're glimpsing at the healer's dying form. Tobias and two other healers that were there, instantly produced a stretcher and hurriedly, but still with a lot of cautiousness, put him on it, and carry him onto a healing room, just hoping it wasn't too late…

* * *

_-Well, I know this one is too sad; that's actually why is rather small and was hard to write it..._

_- Moreover, I guess that's a cliff or something- I'm not quite sure about it... But actually, I suppose you didn't see this one coming (just from the reviews...), but anyway, I really hope you still like it!_

_- And of course, you know what I want right now... REVIEWS!!! That would be GREAT, so give me some feedback, please...!_

_- And I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	8. The Wound Is Exposed

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story, which I hope you all enjoy.

Thank you so much for the few reviews- I kind of assumed that the whole 'suicidal thing' was rather unexpected...

Anyway, I'll let you read now... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wonds_

_~The Wound Is Exposed~_

He opened his eyes extremely slowly, as his heavy eyelids were hurting him dreadfully, and he looked at whatever it was before him. '_White. White. White… Everything's really… white.' _he thought tiredly and glanced down at himself; his torso was bare and he looked himself… well, _white! 'I don't think that makes such a difference; I was always white, but not actually like this! I'm actually as white as sheet, like I'm a ghost or something!'_

He thought about this last thought and shivered gently: what if he _was a ghost? 'That would be a good reason…' _he said to himself casually and tried to take a step forward, so he could observe the place he was at.

Only that he couldn't make a step. He remained still.

He tried once again, but something was keeping him exactly where he was, not letting him move at all. And then, he noticed that he was lying.

'_Lying? Where did that come from?' _he thought with some annoyance. He tried to look around, trying to find a single clue about where he was. The only think he could see was a white door and the marble floor. _'I didn't know that in heavens there were special places with marble floors for the newcomers…'_ Then, he heard soft, gentle whispers.

He turned his head with toil towards the source of the noise, wanting to know where he was or what, or better who, was producing such soothing noises. He made out three blur figures, the one really close to the other, doing what it seemed to be a crucial conversation about a topic he couldn't understand; their voices sounded like light breezes in his ears. He tried to watch the figures more closely and as the fog slowly was disappearing from his vision, he managed to notice some of the people's characteristics: the one of them was rather tall, with very dark complexion and dark brown hair and beard. Ron thought for a moment that he looked a lot like his co-worker, Tobias… _'What?' _he gasped in his head _'Is he dead, too? When the heck did he die? I saw him the morning _I _died!' _Then he thought about what he had just said in his mind. He'd seen him the day he had tried to kill himself, whenever it was that day.

But what if… if there was a slim possibility not… not managing that?

He heard the conversation being stopped and he looked weakly and quite expectantly at the people on the right side of the room, all three looking surprisingly and worriedly at him. He didn't quite think of a good explanation as how could they possibly notice him watching them, while they were at such a deep conversation. Their stares were still on him and he didn't knew what he should do about the situation; besides, he was really confused as to what's happening, so talking to some people wasn't in his direct plans.

"He woke up." the man who looked like Tobias whispered gently and in an instant, he was standing next to him, grabbing Ron's wrist gently and pressed the spot where the passage of his veins supposed to be, with his warm fingertips. The redhead looked at him with a puzzled, innocent look in his face, like he was a little child, even though the deep scars in his face- which weren't actually wrinkles- revealed a darker past and years of tiredness.

"How're you feeling, Ron?" the man asked politely and glanced at the other man's eyes with worry and sadness. Ron was more confused now.

"Where… where am I?" he asked with difficulty, and he instantly felt his throat raw and heard his voice sounding completely hoarse. He swallowed hard, trying to cool the burn he was feeling there. The older man besides him let a small, sad smile making its appearance on his thin lips.

"You don't even recognize the place where you work? At least do you recognize who I am?" he asked gently. Ron peered at his face with difficulty and whispered almost inaudibly.

"Tobias?" he asked cautiously, like if his guess was wrong, he would be punished. The man smiled and nodded softly.

"That's right, Ron, I'm Tobias and we're at St. Mungo's." he explained slowly and politely. Ron nodded once and looked around expectantly.

"Why did you do this, Ron?" Tobias asked sadly a moment later. "I know that you need rest right now and you're still under treatment, but, really, what were you thinking?" Ron watched the man with fear in his eyes, looking really vulnerable. Tobias immediately regretted about asking him such a personal question.

"Don't worry, Ron, it's ok, just stay calm and rest; that's what matters now- you regaining your health- and trust when I say that this is quite the task for you now." he said gently and he took a bottle from the nightstand next to Ron's table. "Alright, Ron, now, let me help you with this potion…" Tobias gave slowly to Ron the blue liquid, which immediately slid down his sore throat.

"Everything's going to be just alright, Ron." Tobias' voice echoed weakly into the patient's ears, as his eyes were closing slowly and dreamless slumber let him depart from the dreadful reality, which was approaching him threateningly, for some more hours.

Because he had to face his mistakes one more time after this peaceful slumber...

…

He woke up many hours later, but he wasn't sure if he should open his eyes or not- there was so much silence in the room, and he didn't like it much; it was like a really bad sign for something that's coming closer. He decided to be somewhat brave and encounter with anything that threaten him and his life- he shouldn't be a coward once again. So, he opened his puffy eyes and after adjusting them to the extremely bright light, he looked around, wanting to know what was giving him the impression of threat and insecurity. He found a person sitting next to his bed, who at the precise moment wasn't looking at him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to realize who was there, waiting, and probably caring as well, for him.

_Hermione._

He felt his heart sank a little as he was watching his beautiful wife sitting next to his bed; her puffy, red eyes were now focused on the view out of the window and her hand was covering his weak, cold, big palm. He felt quite uneasy.

The woman suddenly, like a secret power inside her informed her, turned her head towards him and her eyes, the moment she noticed he was awake, became wide and sank in her fresh tears. Ron wanted to cry as well, not wanting to see her like this because of him, and knowing what's going to happen next, he felt even more pain because of her upcoming one.

"Ron!" she cried out and took his face gently into her warm palms, looking at it carefully, like she wanted to memorize it. "Oh my, I thought… I thought I would lose you, love… Oh, why, why did you do this to yourself, Ron?" she said with hoarse voice and the tears escaped from her beautiful eyes. Ron felt bad immediately.

"Tobias told me yesterday that Sarah accidently found you in your office almost dead, dear… I thank God for sending Sarah to your office; I-I don't dare to think what would have happened if someone hadn't come in your office in time to find you still alive." Her sobs and crying didn't do any good to Ron, but he knew that he had to deal with all these; that was the _right _thing to do. "Why did you do this, Ron, why? I know that you were distant lately, but you should have told me about anything that bothered you, love, not letting all your problems make you miserable and out of mind…"

She stopped for a moment to try to take a breath between her soft sobs as her eyes never left Ron.

"I'm sorry." His voice was still a rasping whisper from all the screaming from the day before, but he didn't care; he wouldn't use this mere fact as an excuse for escaping once again from his fate.

"Was- Was it me?" she whispered desperately and peered at his face with her wet eyes. "What did I do wrong and made you do this? I promise you I'll try to be a better wife, just tell me what's wrong with me."

Ron's heart ached as he was watching her blaming herself like this; how could she think she could be an unsatisfactory spouse? He didn't want her torturing herself like this, as it was torturing him as well. He should have to put an end to all these.

"Hermione" he whispered and Hermione's attention was instantly on him. He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously. "I-I need to tell you something… something really important. But, please, I want you not to interrupt me until I'm finished and then, if you still want to speak to me, you can ask me whatever you want."

"Why wouldn't I want to speak to you- I don't understand, Ron." Hermione whispered confusingly and fearfully; Ron looked sadly at her.

"You'll understand soon enough, I promise." His voice sounded hurt and apologetic, but he knew that he didn't actually deserve her pity.

"Do you remember when I told you about a meeting Alfred held at his place? Well-"

"What this has to do with your… suicidal attempt; that happened months ago!" Hermione interrupted with confusion and pain clear in her face. Ron exhaled softly.

"You'll see, Hermione; everything's going to make sense to you in a few minutes, just listen to me until the very end, ok?" when Hermione nodded softly, he continued: "Well, as you know, I'd been there as well and during the night, Alfred introduced me to… to another healer- well, actually it was a woman healer.

Well, that healer… she kept on talking to me this way and I was scared; I've never seen such a woman before, so confident in a bad way and… em, thirsty… And I was scared and I drank a lot and of course, I showed her my wedding band, but she kept on flirting and after that… after that, I was in a bathroom and… and I had sex with her…"

His voice cracked, as he felt a lump in his throat, and small tears escaped from the outer corners of his eyes. Hermione's eyes widened immediately with shock and her sympathetic, caring look slipped from her face, being replaced by a hard, stony expression as she was looking at him, waiting probably for him to end, as she promised a few minutes ago. Ron swallowed painfully hard before he continued, tears still pouring down his temples. "I'm so sorry, Hermione… I-I was out of my mind- I thought I was with you when I was with her… That's- That's why I was like this all his time… I wasn't able to face you… I'm just so sorry, Mio- Hermione… And that's why I tried to k-kill myself; I couldn't live knowing I did this to you; you don't deserve an ass for your husband…"

He swallowed his mere sob that was trying to escape from his cold, pale lips, as he was watching his wife looking at him with angry, and at the same time still confused, eyes, which were full with unshed tears that he knew she wouldn't let them make their way down her face. Hermione inhaled shakily and turned her stare at the window, as if she looked at her husband, she would be infected by his terrible sins.

"You said you tried to kill yourself because you felt bad about what you did." she said with a steady, unemotional voice that made Ron shudder uncontrollably. He gulped and whispered an almost inaudible 'yes' with his voice shaking slightly.

"And you also said you're sorry for that." she kept on with this same tone in her voice. Ron once again whispered a shaky 'yes', knowing the end was behind this very door a few meters away from them; he was afraid of the end.

"And if you had succeeded in these ambitious plans of yours, how would I have been informed about your divagations? Would you just let me think I did this to you, not knowing actually _a thing _about what led you doing this to yourself, and letting me torture and drive myself mad for the rest of my life? You really show me how sorry you are, Ronald Weasley!" she said acidly and threw him a dark glare, letting him feel pain in his chest. '_Don't forget; you deserve this, Weasley._' Ron said unconvincingly to himself, as his heart sank into the mire of desperation and pain.

"I've written you a- a letter, explaining everything" he replied with his shaky, cracked voice. She raised his eyes disbelievingly.

"Really? Oh, how thoughtful of you to write me _a letter _before you die; I'm really relieved now!" she commented sarcastically and turned her glare back to the window on the other side of the room. Ron looked down at his uncovered chest, feeling really shameful to look at his flawless wife. How could he do all these to her?

"I know that my words mean nothing to you now, but… I'm really sorry about all these things; cheating on you, and not daring to tell you a thing as soon as possible, and letting you in the dark, thinking you made something wrong that made me distant… I should be more solid and resistant as a character, and more honest with you. I shouldn't give up our marriage like this."

Hermione didn't speak for a bit, she just looking out of the window with hard eyes. "You're right; you should do all these." Her voice was calmer this time, but drained out of any emotion. "But you should also think this, months ago, and not now…"

He let her words sink in and dared to glance at her for a mere second before looking at his longs fingers. "You're right." Then he heard her laughing lowly and bitterly as she was shaking her head slowly and disappointedly. He stared at her with his mouth slightly open and his eyes full with childish puzzlement.

"It's really cute, Ronald, you thinking that with some mere compliments, you would get the drop on me, like it's something _so _easy! For your information, it's a really difficult task!"

Ron, without realizing how, felt a bit of annoyance in his heart, when he heard her words (actually, it was quite remarkable that this woman could make him feel things that were really 'off' for the recent circumstances, whichever these were every time) and he replied shortly after her, his voice a bit more loud and steady this time.

"It's nothing like that! How could you think I would be so swallow-brained?" She looked at him with disbelief.

"Yeah, you're right; it's not like you give me the rise to such impressions!" she cried out angrily, exhaled furiously and ran her hand through her hair. Ron's eyes widened slightly and looked at her rather fearfully, while his heart was beating painfully; he looked down instantly, feeling shame rising again inside him.

"Look… I'm-" Ron started a minute later, but he was interrupted by the door, which was opened and a second later, Tobias was standing next to Hermione and Ron.

"Oh, I see you're awake again!" he exclaimed and took Ron's hand once again, checking his pulse. "How are you feeling? Have you got any headaches? Nausea?"

"No, Tobias; I just feel a bit of weakness at the muscles and the bones, that's all." He was careful not to mention the ache he felt in his heart- it wasn't exactly a symptom of an after-suicidal-attempt period. The healer smiled gently.

"I see; that's because of the big amount of different curses you cast on yourself and because of the huge blood loss; I really think it's a miracle you managed to survive after losing almost all your blood!" he said, trying probably to encourage the younger healer, but failing, as there wasn't any sort of respond in his words. He cleared his throat softly and looked at the married couple.

"You have to stay here for some weeks, so we could check your state all the time, and there also might be some psychological aid as well." His words at the end were filled with sadness and Ron didn't like that particular tone much; he just hoped their marital problems wouldn't come out, so they- and especially she- wouldn't have to face the entire wizarding world gossiping about their ruined relationship and humiliating them mercilessly. He didn't want this to happen to her.

"I don't really think there's a need for a psychologist, Tobias." Ron tried to sound sure and steady, so he could convince him. "All this was just a frivolous mistake and nothing else; let's not make it seem bigger that it really is." Tobias peered at his face for a moment and then exhaled softly.

"Alright, Ron, but only because it's you and I know you; but if I find it necessary for your health to have some psychological aid, I won't ask you about it, you'll just see the healer right here doing his job." Ron nodded thankfully at his friend.

"Thank you." he whispered softly and shifted on his bed, trying to make himself more comfortable on what it would be his new home for a little while.

When he thought the word 'home', thoughts that never occurred to him until now, came into his mind. After leaving the hospital, he had to stay somewhere, but he wasn't quite sure where this 'somewhere' would be located or if his previous residence would be hospitable and welcoming for him anymore. He glanced at Hermione for a brief second before he looked back again at the white sheet that was covering his long legs.

"Of course, even after you are allowed to go back home, you should take some weeks off and you should rest and take some potions every day; but of course, it's not the time to discuss about this yet- all in the right time. I'll let you alone now; I presume you have a lot to say, but I would ask you not to stay too long, Hermione- he absolutely needs more rest." Hermione smiled up to him weakly.

"Don't worry, Tobias; I'm not intending on staying here much longer." she said simply, but Ron was able to notice the insinuation under her words. The healer smiled politely, and after he had said his goodbyes, he left the couple alone. Ron looked nervously at his wife, who was in deep thought at the moment, thinking what he should say (if he should speak to her at all).

"What are we going to do?" he said unsurely and saw her head jerking with the sound of his weak voice. "I mean, after me leaving the hospital. And with the whole thing, in general." Hermione peered at his face with tension evident in her physiognomy, like she didn't want to talk to him or see his figure. She didn't give an answer for some long moments, and when Ron was about to think that there was no need to wait for some sort of reply from her, she spoke.

"I don't know, Ronald; I simply can't think clearly at the moment." she whispered and shook her head vividly, trying to show her point. "I need to go and I want you not to try to communicate with me with any way possible, whether you're capable of doing so or not." Ron nodded his agreement immediately.

"Don't mention it." he whispered seriously and looked down. Hermione stood from her seat and started heading towards the door. When Ron heard the soft sound of her slow steps, he looked up at her petite form rather expectantly.

"Will you come and visit me again?" he asked her lowly and somewhat coyly, afraid of her upcoming reaction to his question. "Someday?" She turned her head towards him and stared at his face for a moment before answering with a low voice as well.

"We'll see, Ronald. Have a peaceful night." Ron looked at her sadly.

"Have a peaceful night, too, Hermione." he whispered softly. She smiled bitterly.

"I can't guarantee you that." she finally said and exited the room immediately, leaving the full with guilt patient staring into vacancy with a hurt expression apparent on his face. Tears started to escape once again from the outer corners of his huge, tired eyes, as he was thinking that it was going to be a difficult night; but this time, not only for him, no. This time it would be a torturous night for her as well, and that thought was that made the pain inside him increase and tear him apart…

…

Hermione apparated to their house shortly after her exit from Ron's room. Her tears held on no longer and started to escape from her stung eyes freely and pouring down her pale face. Her- Their life was torn in mere seconds and she just couldn't believe it. What had happened between them? They had spent so much time, trying to figure out their emotions and escape from the darkness of the world, and now, that everything's supposed to be alright, they made sure to start self-destroying themselves, along with their relationship. _What had happened_ _between them?_

She instantly felt nauseous and hurried to make her way towards the bathroom. When she reached her destination, she kneeled in front of the toilet and started throwing up violently for some minutes, with salty drops still coursing down her cheeks. When she finally managed to take a breath, she conjured a glass and filled it with water, and then she drank some. After managing to calm herself down a bit, she slowly headed towards the bedroom and lay on the huge bed. She looked at it for a moment and she thought it looked extremely huge and cold and empty. She put her arms around herself tightly and tears once again were flowing from her eyes. She couldn't stand facing the bed and at the same time, the dreadful reality that surrounded them.

He was away; he was not with her, filling the empty space of the bed and producing some warmth inside her, healing the gaping hole in her chest. _He was away from her… And so was their love…_

* * *

_- Well, I hope you like this one! This chapter is probably an 'Amen!' for all of you who wanted Ron telling her the truth... Personally, I wanted that as well; I think that a letter would be really impersonal._

_-And well, you know what I want SO badly... REVIEWS!!! That would be downright awesome!_

_-And I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	9. Unexpected

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story, which I hope reaches your expectations and makes you like it! And thank you so much for the hits and the few reviews; so far they've been great!

I'll let you read now... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Unexpected~_

Hermione hadn't visited Ron for the whole week. That made Ron feel the pain inside him increase more and more with every long second passing and being taken out of his life; another long second without her in his life. He couldn't stand the fact, even though he knew that it would be just abnormal and 'unhealthy' for their relationship to them just coming back to the wonderful life they once had. But on the other hand, how he was supposed to show his remorse if he didn't see her? But of course, there was a reason behind her absence: she wanted some space, some time on her own, so she could think clearly about them- it was normal and Ron respected that.

Tobias or a couple of other healers were coming every other hour to check on his condition and to give him any sort of potions or other treatment. Ron had found this routine quite annoying and it was letting him with almost no time to think himself more clearly and in depth; he, of course, knew that his health was still weak and his condition crucial, but he was able to understand just from the expression they held on their faces that there was something more than that: they were afraid of him making a second attempt to harm himself and succeeding this time. The redhead hadn't such intentions, but he couldn't actually believe that they hadn't some mere faith in him for not doing such things again; maybe they were still too shocked to believe that he had tried this even once…

It was a Tuesday morning of March and he was sitting on his rather small bed, gazing at the scenery that's provided from the window on the other side of the room. There was nothing special to it; it was just a mere example of how the whole city of London was, nothing more. But Ron was actually enjoying neither the view of the huge number of buildings and roads nor the small amount of hesitant sunbeams that were entering the room; his weary eyes were unfocused and the only things that seemed to function more properly at the moment were his unsure, sore heart, his unwilling lungs and last but not at all least, his restless for months now, brain. His mind wandered at random memories and even more dreams he had had when he was younger and more carefree: being in love with his 'sweetie', marrying her, building a large, happy family with her and their love, loving her with care and passion for the rest of his life, making sure she was happier with the pass of the time… But he didn't give her anything from all these, or if he gave some of them, he just took care to ruin every single part of it, leaving nothing behind this raucous, fierce hurricane of unforgivable mistakes of his, nothing but mere ashes of their once existent bonds…

He felt his eyes getting wet, thanks to this tangle of sad thoughts of his, and for a brief moment, he thought with slight wonder how in Merlin's beard his lachrymal glands were still intact and where they had found so much water and salt in his weak system, just to produce the huge amounts of tears he'd left shed for this last week. But the thought was instantly erased from his head as the fat, bitterly salty drops made once again the already known travel from the puffy sockets, right trough the pale, and at the time, rather skinny cheeks and the shaky jaw, so they would meet the abrupt cliff, and a second later, they would leave a wet stain on his white pajama shirt and right into his soul. The whole process didn't make him feel more pain, though; unlike the previous times he cried _violently _because of his mistakes, now, every time he would cry rather softly, he would feel the pain ease a bit and the possibly existent headache would be slowly gone; it was like some sort of medicine, and he was greatly thankful for it…

Some hours later, he heard people approaching his room while they were talking lowly. Ron wasn't quite sure if the people meant to come into his room, as a nurse had come just half an hour ago to check him (and truth to be told, it was quite embarrassing to know that someone, let alone a woman, had come in and find him crying like a seven-year-old boy.), but a short moment later, Tobias and Hermione came in the room.

_Hermione…_

Ron was gaping at the dreamingly beautiful wife of his, who, even though had a rather sorrowful and uneasy look in her eyes, was glowing in graceful beauty, and that was quite inexplicable, to say at the least… The healer and the woman walked towards his bed and finally stood next to it. Ron glanced quickly at his friend, who was giving him a gentle, small smile at the moment, and then his pupils focused faithfully on Hermione, scanning every little movement and observing every single reaction of hers, but she seemed to have promised to herself to keep her face and her eyes as much drained out of emotion as possibly feasible; Ron became extremely sad just from looking at her being like this.

"How're you doing, old friend?" Tobias asked in a friendly way and Ron looked at him confusingly for a moment, almost forgetting his presence in the room.

"Quite fine, thank you." he said quickly and looked back at Hermione, whose eyes were restlessly and quite worryingly looking around at the room- well, all the room except a specific bed with a sad, red-haired patient; Ron was quite sure that she was worried and restless about something. _'Well, this is the understatement of the year, old chap!' _he said to himself ironically.

"I've just come here to bring Hermione, as I was explaining your situation, so I'll just leave you for now; I'll come back later to check on your condition, Ron. Have a nice afternoon, Hermione." Tobias said, with probable nervousness in his voice. Hermione turned her eyes on him and gave him a sad and rather fake smile.

"Thank you, Tobias; and have a nice afternoon, too." Tobias smiled gently at her and a moment later, he was gone; thus, they were alone, looking down and staying for some minutes at a death-like silence. Ron thought he should make the first move, being quite sure that Hermione wouldn't take the matter in her pretty hands.

"Hi." _'Wow; what a progress!' _he thought quite sarcastically. Hermione looked at him carefully for a brief moment and then she exhaled tiredly and sat on a chair next to his bed.

"Hi." she repeated, quite out of force, in Ron's opinion. He thought not to give it much of thought, 'cause he would drive himself crazy. "How are you feeling?" she asked then slightly gently and that gladly surprised the redhead.

"I'm well-" he started, but when he saw the small glare of hers, he continued hurriedly and quite embarrassingly: "I mean… I'm ok, I guess…" Hermione looked some more at him and then looked at her hands on her lap.

"And you?" he asked softly "How are you?" Hermione didn't speak for a moment, probably thinking about her answer and then she turned her head towards him and looked at him with somewhat cold eyes; that made Ron swallow hard and wet his extremely dry throat.

"Bearably." she said simply and looked at the window, just like the last time she was there. Ron just stared at her for a couple of long moments and then shook his head and thought about starting a little conversation.

"You visited me." he said softly and slightly thankfully with his low voice. Hermione turned her head towards him again.

"I did… Is that a problem?" she said rather coldly and snappishly. Ron hurried to reassure her.

"No! I- it's just that… that after a week… I mean… I thought you wouldn't come here ever again." he stammered slightly.

"Well, I probably wouldn't, but there are things we need to talk about and sort them out, so I had to." Hermione explained with an unemotional tone in her voice and Ron saw a rather inexplicable little shine in the depths of her eyes that utterly confused him.

"I see." he merely said in a whisper and he exhaled rather loudly before he continued, not quite sure how his wife would react on his words: "Either way, I'm glad to see you here…"

Hermione's pretty eyes widened in what Ron assumed to be pure surprise, but he couldn't actually realize if this was a good thing or not. He heard clearing her throat softly and peered at his navy blue orbs cautiously.

"As I've said, I came here to talk about things, so don't get your hopes up, because then you'll just fill up your head with mere illusions." Her voice was quite high-pitched and she said her opinion really fast, which, in the redhead's opinion, would possibly mean two things: either she was really frustrated and angry with him, or she didn't actually believe what she said. As for Ron, he wanted to believe that it was the latter. Not so comfortable silence filled the air between the couple, but neither of them knew what to say at the moment, so they let it surround them for some minutes. That of course until Ron, for once again, decided to speak first.

"So, where do you want us to start from?" he asked gently and looked at his entwined fingers that were resting on his lap at the moment. Hermione knitted slightly her eyebrows with confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked annoyed. Ron glanced for a short second at her petite frame before he forced himself to look back at his trembling fingers.

"You said you want us to talk about our current situation, so where do you want us to start from? I guess you've thought about the whole process of our meeting with so much detail; I, on the other hand, to be honest, kept on thinking about which is the best way existent to show you how sorry I truly am and in how much deep shit I put us through, that I didn't actually consider the fact about what would we do when we'd see each other." Ron said sincerely and Hermione was quite surprised by his true words. She stared at him for a minute and then she cleared her throat softly again and started to speak.

"Well, the point is that I have to tell you something really important." Her voice was surprisingly soft and almost inaudible this time, as she wasn't daring to look her husband in the eye, facts that startled Ron in an instant.

"What happened, Hermione; what's wrong?" he asked her urgently, but still with softness apparent in his voice. Hermione looked at him for a brief moment and her eyes showed him how troubled and worried her soul was. He instantly felt the urge to get up and hug her protectively and letting no one harm her, but then he remembered that he was the one that caused her the greatest of harms, so he swallowed this sudden want of his forcibly.

"I found out something a few days ago." she whispered and exhaled quite noisily while she was bending her head down for a minute. Ron's eyes unconsciously widened a bit as they never left his wife's form out of their sight; he couldn't understand what was going on, but something in her suddenly fragile tone and on her expression made him think that whatever she had find out, either it'd be something really bad or it'd bring them a lot of trouble and more problems to add on the already huge pile of their existent ones. He wasn't quite sure which one of the options was more comforting and appealing at the moment, so he just waited for Hermione to continue. But when no sound came out of her lips, he decided to urge her some, even though he was quite sure that he would probably regret it the moment he'd hear about her 'discovery'.

"What is it?" he asked politely, showing her that he wanted to be there for her and solve this together, but at the same time underlining in his tone that he wasn't pressing her and she had her time to tell him whenever she felt ready. She seemed to catch his particular tone and looked at him for a second thankfully before trouble made its presence in her eyes again.

"I found out that… well, I found out that I'm pregnant." she said with new-found bravery in her voice and she looked cautiously at Ron, waiting probably for his reaction.

_Blank. Blank. Blank…._

For a couple of minutes, Ron wasn't able to think about anything, while his, almost out of their pale sockets, eyes were gazing at the woman in front of him without actually understanding what they were looking at.

"W-What?" he choked out and then he realized that his throat was completely dry, so he gulped hard, as he was never letting his eyes leave Hermione's ones.

"I'm pregnant." she confirmed almost inaudibly and took a deep, rather shaky breath before continuing: "For one month now…" Ron thought about it for a moment, without actually knowing how he could force his brain cells to go back to their work, with the pure shock still flowing into his veins with mad rush.

"Valentine's Day…" he whispered like he was lost in space and noticed that Hermione nodded slightly.

"When else?" she said with fragile, low voice and then she smiled bitterly. "Whenever we're ready or not, we're going to have a child." Ron immediately remembered the conversation they had some months ago he nodded once.

"Yeah, but you wanted that, right? And I wanted that as well…" he told her with what seemed to be a smooth, reassuring tone. Hermione seemed confused.

"You had said you hadn't such needs at the moment." she expressed her puzzlement and he instantly felt his blood circulating faster under the pale skin of his cheeks.

"Well… what I said had been a lie; I always wanted children with you, but I had to tell you that I didn't, because I knew you wanted to bring our sex-life's current state up and I just didn't dare to deal with this, so I came up with a small series of lies, which of course wasn't exactly my gladdest outlet." he explained quickly, yet sincerely. Hermione seemed to observe his face and his tone and then she talked.

"Either way we have to deal with something that complicates our already difficult situation a lot; because, for your information, I'm not going to abort it!"

"I wasn't going to ask you such a thing; I know how difficult it'll be for us, but I want this baby!" he said rather annoyed with his wife thinking of him so little, even though he had given her the right to do so. She exhaled softly.

"Anyway, I'm not in the mood to argue with you or make a comment right now, but we have to discuss about some urgent things." Hermione said tiredly and Ron nodded softly.

"Of course, I see…" he said, more to himself rather than her, and then he looked up at her. "What do you want us to sort out first?"

"I believe that the most important thing at the moment is where are you going to stay after they allow you to leave; you heard what Tobias said about you resting for some time after your stay here." she explained and the man on the bed gulped, having forgotten for a moment about this. She was right, of course; their state was quite equivocal at the moment and such things were quite ticklish to cope with; what should they do about this?

"And what have you decided about it?" he asked her gently, knowing that it would be really bold to just tell her his mere, lame opinion.

"Why do I have to come up with every solution; I'm quite sure that you're a great part of this and you should come up with something as well!" she snapped and glared acidly at him. Ron miraculously didn't lose his calmness this time.

"I just asked you because I'm sure you've already thought of something, while I have not, and after that, it would be just horrible, me making such an important decision while I'm the guilty party of the story- I believe that our priority right now is for you and the baby being as comfortable and peaceful as possible." he said seriously and that slightly surprised Hermione, but then she forced away any emotion from her face.

"Anyway… you're a patient as well and I want my child to meet their father, so we need to figure out this as well." she said and for a long moment she didn't speak, trying probably to find the courage or the right words to tell him what he was sure to be a decision she had been thinking about for the entire week. "I believe you should come home when they discharge you, at least for some time until you're healthy enough… healthy enough to do whatever you want to do with your life…" Ron instantly felt anger starting to boil into his chest and looked at her rather furiously.

"_My life? _What about _our _life, Hermione? What about all these things that are ours?" he exclaimed angrily and her eyes widened a bit from what the redhead presumed to be shock and slight fear. He didn't want her to be afraid of him, but he couldn't stand this anymore.

"I believe _our_ life is somewhere away from us and it'll be this way for some time, until we figure out what's happening between us. For the moment, you'll just come back home when they allow you to do so; I think that's enough for the time being." she said out aloud her thoughts and then she stood up; Ron's head instantly jerked and his eyes opened wide with worry.

"Where are you going?" he asked straightaway. Hermione looked at him tiredly and sadly.

"This conversation was exhausting and rather long, so I'm going home." she explained simply and after looking some more seconds at her husband, she started to head towards the door. The man on the bed couldn't find the will to look away from her graceful, yet sorrowful, form and without even realizing it, his lips were parted and sound came out from the depths of his chest, along with his deep breath.

"Will you come back again some time?" he asked softly, making his wife peering at his characteristics for a moment before answering.

"Maybe." That's all she said. Ron wasn't satisfied by it, but he didn't show it to her. He was in deep thought for a moment that he almost didn't hear her saying a mere 'goodbye'. He looked at her lovely eyes for a second before replying gently:

"Have a good night, Hermione. And you should eat something nutritious before bed; you need to take vitamins now, for you and for the… for the baby." Hermione looked carefully at him for a moment and then she did something that surprised him, yet made him fill with some mere happiness, to no extend: she gave _him _a small, tired and sad smile for a brief second and then she nodded softly.

"I will…" she simply said and a short moment later, she was out of his sight. Ron stayed still for some minutes, just staring at the now empty space where Hermione was standing a few seconds ago, until he took a deep breath and lay completely on his bed, thinking about the things happened that day. Well, actually it was _one, big _thing and some others around it, but it still was enough for him to think about it for the next few centuries…

Hermione was pregnant… _She had their child, their little baby, inside her… _He wanted so badly at the moment to go on with that clichés almost every married couple said about an upcoming birth of a child, like the baby being 'the fruit of their love' or other, similar things, but he knew that in their case, love was missing at another world, far away from theirs, or at least he hoped for just now. He didn't actually dare to get his hopes really up, seeing how Hermione was behaving towards him at the moment, but never losing his hope at all; he wanted to be with her- no, he wanted to be with _them, _and he wouldn't give up this time; he would fight for their marriage and for their family…

And without realizing it, while he was terribly lost in this long train of his thoughts, his eyelids drifted shut and his agony was replaced by light, peaceful sleep, during which he dreamed about a little, beautiful baby smiling beamishly up to him and a happy, in love with him, Hermione…

…

**1 month later**

Ron flooed back to his house after a very long time and immediately let his orbs wander around the cozy living room, letting the sensation of mere welcoming and familiarity fill him warmly; even though the circumstances were different and somewhat fragile, he was still glad he was back there, to what he would always think as _their _home…

He took some hesitant steps forward, not sure if Hermione was there. Of course she had confirmed him that she would, but how could he be sure? She seemed to do things lately that totally weren't her and he was confused and unsure about how to behave around her, like he was thirteen all over again.

He suddenly heard soft steps coming towards the room and a minute later, she was in the room, a few meters away from him. He observed her petite frame for a moment and then he smiled softly.

"Hi." he whispered coyly and somewhat unsurely. Hermione looked at him before responding.

"I thought you'd come earlier." Her voice was steady and without much emotion and the fact made him nervous, but he thought that if every time she spoke at him like that, he was going to feel so unsure and nervous, he had already lost the battle.

"Tobias got me held up a bit; he wanted to do any sort of checks on me and make sure I knew exactly how and when to take each of my potions." he explained simply and then waited for her to speak. When any sort of reply came, he cleared his throat uncomfortably and took the strap of his pack in his slightly sweaty palm.

"I made some dinner, so if you want you can come and eat." she said simply and sat on an armchair, taking a book from the coffee table and burying her head in it, not giving Ron the chance to say anything more.

He started to head towards the stairs and climbed them up slowly, still feeling his muscles a bit numb and weak. He reached the rather narrow aisle and glanced at each of the doors there were on either side of it. He took a really deep breath and then he exhaled it softly, before he bravely opened a door on the right side of the corridor and entered the room hurriedly, before he changed his mind, a thing he knew it would be disastrous at the particular moment and for the particular reason…

…

After making sure everything in the bedroom was ok, he climbed down the stairs just as slowly as he had climbed them up some time ago, if not slower. He went to the kitchen and saw his wife there, already eating slowly from her plate. When she finally noticed him, she raised rather coldly her right eyebrow.

"You're late again." she simply said and started eating again. Ron unsurely went towards the table and sat at it.

"I was arranging the guests' room; I had to remove all my stuff there and such…" he whispered softly and for that, he received a cautious, piercing look from the woman across him, which lasted for a long moment, before her eyes returned back to her plate. Ron then looked down at the table, wanting to see what his lovely wife had prepared for the meal, feeling his mouth rather eager to savour every taste of the dishes. His eyes scanned the table eagerly, but the only things he saw was a large bowl of boiled peas and a plate full of risotto with mussels; his eyes widened with slight shock and he instantly moved them with force, so he could look at Hermione.

"Where's the food?" he asked urgently, his voice was shaky, but this time not because of nervousness... She jerked her head slowly and swallowed without rushing it, before speaking at him.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Ronald; the food's right here." she replied politely and casually. That got on his nerves even more.

"Oh, but you do perfectly well, missy; you know that I am allergic to mussels and that I cannot eat peas!" he cried out angrily and leapt to his feet immediately. Hermione didn't even blink at the sudden outburst of his temper; she just looked at him casually.

"Well, when I was thinking what I should prepare for dinner, I had the sudden urge to eat risotto and peas, and then I thought 'what would be better than risotto with mussels?', so I just cooked it. Besides, I thought that they would send you all fed up, so I didn't have to cook for you as well." Hermione explained her reasoning, but it made Ron even angrier, but he just glared at her, breathing heavily. "So, if you want to eat you can eat of course, but if you don't intend to do so, I believe that your presence here is no longer inevitable." she continued with fake, icy politeness that made Ron want to swear loudly at her; instead of that, he just tried to calm his uneven, heavy breathing and tame his anger, and he walked hurriedly towards the fridge, grabbing a bottle of strawberry juice he found there and walked towards the small staircase, after murmuring a quite grumpy 'night' through his greeted teeth. He went instantly to his room and he closed the door a bit loudly, before he put the small bottle with the juice on the night-stand and started to take off his clothes. He just couldn't believe she was trying to take some kind of mere revenge by doing such… such childish and immature things to him. For Merlin's shake, he knew that he didn't deserve a lovely housewife or something like that, who would welcome him greatly and warmly and forget in a tick all of his horrible mistakes, but that was just… ugh! He just couldn't believe this! It was just so… _so not her…_

Without noticing, big tears started to escape from his eyes and pour down his face freely. He felt his knees not being able support his weight anymore so he just collapsed on the bed, while he was trying not to let his sobs escape from his tightly sealed lips. How they managed to become like this, such an unhappy and miserable (to say at the least) married couple, who was expecting a child, nevertheless! Of course he knew he started this; he started this horrible running match between them, but he wanted neither to win for himself nor to let her win just to satisfy her; he wanted them to win this race _together_; no one loses, no one wins alone. _They supposed to be together…_

Ron kept on his crying for some hours, thinking all the time, feeling restless and at the same time, really tired. He wanted some mere peace, but he wasn't sure if he was able to afford it…

_And while Ron Weasley was letting his salty tears hit his face, he didn't actually know that at the same time, on the other side of the narrow corridor, tears were being shed freely, as well… _

* * *

_- Well, what do you think of this? I think it _was _quite unexeptected, but I don't actually know if any of you had thought of this happening... Well, there was a little, tiny hint in the last chapter (Hermione threw up), but wasn't actually 'too visible' or something... Anyway, I just hope you all enjoy this chapter._

_- And of course, I believe this is the right time for some FEEDBACK!!! That would be utterly appreciated!_

_- And I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	10. The Pain's Spreading

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! This is the next chapter of the story, which I hope you all like so far! It actually takes place **2 months after chapter 9-(Hermione's pregnant for 4 months)**. Thank you so much for your lovely words in your reviews; they just help me go on in an indescribable way... Just thanks! :)

I hope you like this chapter of the story; I believe it's really intense, yet kind of soft and... I don't know how to describe it, so you have to read and find out for yourselves, I guess...

While I was writing this chapter, I was listening to the song _'Good Times Gonna Come' by Aqualung_; I believe that if it wasn't for the song, I wouldn't put all this emotion I believe- and hope- there is in the chapter; the music and the words are intense and amazing, yet this is not a songfic or something...

Anyway, I'll let you read now... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~The Pain's Spreading~_

Ron returned home after a day of not so hard work. His head was dropped down and he sighed audibly when he felt the familiar scent of the place hitting with welcoming force his nostrils. He liked the scent that hugged him for years now, but that particular day, he found it extremely suffocating. He took some steps, so he reached the entrance of the living room, where he sensed some little movements. He turned his head a little bit and saw Hermione sitting on the large sofa, reading, like always, some book. He stood there, just staring at her form wistfully, feeling his inside warm a little bit, just like every time he saw her. Then a thought popped into his head and he felt horrible for making such decisions, but he knew that things had been awful between them lately and there wasn't any other way, at least for the time being.

For two months now, he was doing whatever he could do so he would approach her some and make her understand how much he had regretted his mistakes and how badly he just wanted to work things with her. But the point was that, whatever he did, it was all just rubbish for her; she wouldn't believe him and she would make a really acidly painful and sarcastic comment, that would be stuck in his mind and his heart for some days. She would do things that she would never do to him or anyone else for the matter (once Ron thought sarcastically that mistrust and pregnancy hormones were a deadly match, with the insufferable meaning of it), like letting Crookshanks wander in his room, her waking him up at the oddest hours because she just wanted to 'do some walk around the house' –which of course included his room, as well and at this particular moment of her stroll, she would remember to sneeze loudly or 'accidently' shut the door noisily- and the list was going on the same way.

But Ron knew that the hardest part was the one that was apparent for some weeks till now: she was completely ignoring him, whether he was talking to her or standing before her or being in the same room; she was just giving him the same attention as she would give him if he was a mere wall (even though she was paying more attention to walls as well…). The whole situation was uncomfortable and sometimes it even annoyed him, which as a result, would bring big rows between them, and this would finally let Ron receive some desirable attention to him. But what he felt most about this whole new routine of theirs was pain and sorrow, because so far, his attempts were downright unsuccessful and Hermione seemed to keep her attitude and her thoughts about him still very unbending.

He stared at her frame some more, this time his eyes rested on the little bulge that was currently replacing her once flat abdomen. This instantly brought a small, melancholic smile on his face and he let the little amount of warmth he instantly felt, spread as much as possible in his soul. Even though things with his wife weren't the best, he just couldn't stop loving her and he had already loved the little one that was growing inside her, even though Hermione didn't let him be close to it.

He must have been there just staring at them and thinking for some time, as he suddenly noticed that Hermione was looking at him with that icy expression on her face that she was using a lot lately- at least to him. He took a calm, deep breath and looked at her calmly and straight in the eye, intending on not stopping staring at her until she would break under it and speak to him, even with the rudest comment she would think of- even though he didn't actually crave that sort of responding from her. A few minutes passed just like this, her looking at him with pity and coldness in the eyes, while he was staring piercingly, yet peacefully at her as he was standing under the doorframe of the living room. That until Ron noticed that the expression in her eyes started to change, and from coldness, it became mere nervousness and the powerful supremacy transfigured to uneasiness. Ron felt surer at the moment.

"What are you staring at?" she finally snapped, even though her voice was rather shaky; that made Ron want to smile with mere triumph, but he decided against it. He took a couple of steps closer to the sofa, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I was just looking at our little baby… As long as you don't let me have a closer look at it, I'm saying 'hello' to it my way." he replied collectedly and approached her some more. With mere satisfaction, he saw her blushing a little bit. "Besides, we have to talk." he added

"About what? You know, I'm not actually in the mood of hearing this dull voice of yours." Hermione commented instantly but Ron knew better than letting this sink into him, so he just answered her.

"I made some decisions and I'm sure that you should know about them as well, as we're temporary living with each other and such." Ron suddenly caught with his eyes a mere hint of sorrow in her own ones, but a second later it was gone, of course.

"And what's so important that made you start thinking about things; I thought you had given up persuading your brain to start to function once again." Ron just ignored once again her constant comments, knowing that if he replied to her, he wasn't going to get to his point, which was the reason of this conversation. He inhaled deeply and he finally said it:

"I'm going to live somewhere else." He instantly saw Hermione's eyes widen, pure surprise apparent on her physiognomy. She stood up slowly and looked at him carefully, not being probably sure if he meant that he said.

"What?" she said incredulously and her eyes narrowed disbelievingly. Ron just exhaled his breath noisily and tried again, this time more urgently and stoutly.

"I'm going to leave and stay somewhere else for a while; probably at Harry and Gin's, until I see what I'm going to do with all of these." Hermione looked at him carefully for a moment before speaking.

"You won't leave from here." she told him with some sort of finality in her tone; that made Ron start to feel anger waking inside him like a beast when it smells food, and he glared at her with disbelief.

"Oh, really?" he said with cold sarcasm clearly evident in his voice. "And I'll stay here to do what, exactly? Observing the shape of the mugs and talking to the mirrors- because that's the only thing that seems to listen to me anymore!"

"And what do you actually expect from me, Ronald?" Hermione exclaimed annoyed.

"Giving me a mere chance to show you that I love you and that you're the most important part of my life, but of course, the only thing you want to catch from all the things I say is my swearing and my stupid comments, that's all!" he raised his voice with anger evident in it. Hermione looked somewhat offended by his words and glared icily at him.

"Do you believe that you deserve such a chance? Do you honestly believe this?" she said with her now high-pitched voice. It was Ron's time now to throw her a poisonous glare; he took him a moment to gather his wits again.

"Then why don't you just let me go?" he said to her in a dark, low voice that made her eyes widen for a second. Then she looked furiously at him.

"Because do you honestly believe that I can stand all these?" she said incredulously and looked at him in a way that implied that he should know already the answer to this. Ron couldn't understand where this conversation was leading to.

"Well, I saw you enjoying yourself all this time; what sort of conclusions should I make about your feelings then, Hermione?" he snapped angrily but Hermione exhaled furiously and her eyes started to shine from a sudden… wetness.

"I'm not talking about whatever's happening inside these walls!" she cried out. "I couldn't care less about what stupid conclusions _you_'re making, but I care about the others' opinion, Ronald!" Ron was really confused now and felt a little wrinkle appear on the value between his eyebrows, as they started to come closer to each other.

"What are you talking about?" Ron blurted out; his angry, rather raw, tone in his deep voice seemed to stay with him all this time. Hermione looked at him sorrowfully and he could notice with some fear that there was some vulnerability in her eyes as well.

"Almost the entire wizarding world's talking about us, Ronald!" she cried out and she couldn't held on more: her tears fell freely on her face. Ron felt his eyes widened, as he was peering at her face, and noticed that his heart sank abruptly.

"What?" he asked her immediately, as he couldn't believe that the messages his ears sent to his brain cells were right; he must have heard wrong…

"The news are spreading quickly, Ronald; everyone knows about your suicidal attempt and now they're gossiping about us, wanting so badly to know what caused you to try to put an end to your life." Hermione explained the situation and let more tears wet her pale face; Ron just couldn't believe it.

"B-But… I've never seen something like that happening at hospital." he spoke his thoughts out aloud, his voice calm but fragile at the same time; he wanted to cry himself, but he didn't dare to do so.

"Of course you've never seen anyone near you doing this; they're all afraid of you noticing and then trying to harm yourself again, because you'd probably feel like letting everyone down." Hermione said to him and she peered at his eyes with the emotional pain burning her beautiful ones. "But they're not as gentle to me as they are to you… The whole Department knew about this in less than a week and do you know how dreadful it was… how dreadful it still is… just seeing them staring at you, observing every move or expression or word of yours, trying to find something that would lead them to the solution of this 'unsolved mystery', like our life is a board game." she told him in a low voice and let a small sob escape from her lips. Ron couldn't see her like this; it was like stabbing him mercilessly in the chest and a million times worse than that. He swallowed his scream and blinked back the liquid substance that's threatening to escape from his eyes. He tried to find some reassuring words to comfort her, but he couldn't find any. He gave up when he heard her voice once again.

"So don't you dare leaving this house!" she exclaimed acidly with this shaky voice of hers. Ron didn't catch that and confusion took the best of him.

"What does this have to do with me leaving the house?" he asked disbelievingly and saw the fury on her characteristics instantly.

"Why are you so oblivious and stupid? Can a person have such a huge charisma, honestly!" she explained and Ron forgot all about comforting and soothing, reassuring words; his anger levels raised in a tick.

"Oh really?" he couldn't held his sarcasm on anymore. "I guess then that your charisma is to attract all the bloody fools of this planet like a magnet; what a charisma as well! I'm just wondering why did you say 'yes' when I proposed to you; it seems now that you made it out of force rather than love!" Hermione's eyes almost got out of their rather puffy sockets.

"How dare you saying that!" she screamed and then took a shaky breath before she opened her mouth again to probably continue, but Ron immediately cut her off.

"Are you _saying_ about _me_?" he yelled, his face was all red at the moment. "_You_'re the one who's pretending that no one's there when I talk to you and _you_'re the one that saying all these things to me and doing all these comments so you could hurt my feelings, while I'm just trying to say to you that you're my entire world! I'm sick of this, trying to say how damn sorry I am about ruining our life, while you're just refuse to hear me-"

"Oh…!" Hermione cut him off rather loudly as her orbs widened worriedly and looked down; on her face appeared a painful expression. But Ron was just too angry at the moment to observe any of these.

"'Oh'? What happened; you thought of another reason that I don't deserve you or did you-"

His sentence lost somewhere in the midair, as Hermione's 'oh' repeated once again, this time it was more urgent and painful, though, and her palms automatically went to the little bulge in front of her. Ron's blood drained all from his face and his orbs went twice as large from the pure shock that was washing him. He ran towards his wife and quickly made her gently to sit on the sofa.

"Deep breaths, my dear; just take deep breaths…" he whispered soothingly, yet extremely urgently, and he unconsciously grasped gently her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. He kneeled on the floor in front of her, with his wide eyes never leaving her from their sight, while he was praying with all the power his soul could muster not happening anything to them, and mostly, because of his stupid outburst.

Hermione, after a brief moment of utter shock and slight pain in her belly, seemed to follow his instructions and took shaky, deep breaths, while her trembling palm grabbed in return his and didn't let it go. Ron, when he saw her slow progress, he nodded reassuringly with his head and smiled expectantly up to her, as he was squeezing back her hand.

"That's it, Mione; very nice…" he whispered smoothly, but still loud enough for her to listen. "Slow, deep breaths, Hermione and everything's gonna be fine, just take deep breaths… Breathe in… Breathe out…" he said and repeated his gentle instructions a few more times for her to follow, until her pain was gone. The woman slowly leaned on the back of the couch and tiredly closed her eyelids, her breathing slightly uneven. Ron stared at her sadly and a bit of anxiously.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked her softly a minute later, still a bit worried about her and the baby. Hermione slowly opened her eyes and looked down at him tiredly.

"Yes…" she whispered and just looked at them for a long, very long moment before she spoke again: "Thank you." Ron's heart jumped momentarily from the surprise and then from the pure gladness these two words of hers made him feel; he gave her a small smile in response.

"It's ok; besides if it hadn't been about my anger, this wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry for that as well…" he whispered sadly and looked at the dark brown, wooden floor for a short moment before he looked back at her. Her face was holding an unreadable expression right now and Ron didn't know how to react to this, but a second later, he felt icy cold air surrounding the skin of his left hand, as hers was pulling away from their strong entwinement, from their life-depending, at least for him, bond. The coldness from the hand painfully went over to his emotionally dying heart, which was thumping extremely slowly, like it wanted itself to put an end to the life of this miserable creature. But this time, as much emotional pain as he received, he didn't want to put an end to this; well, not so abruptly at least…

"You have to stay here." Ron suddenly heard her voice hitting his eardrums with an unemotional and somewhat restrained tone in it; the sound made the man turning his stare from the far corner of the room to her. "You must stay here; I couldn't stand more humiliation at work if they found out some way that you don't live here with me anymore and we shouldn't get Harry and Ginny to all these, as well. And I guess… I guess it would be useful if there was a healer here, just to prevent things like this one and check on the baby." Hermione finally said and looked straight ahead, not looking towards her husband at all. Ron understood her reasons, they were totally rational, but a small part of his brain wanted to know if they was any other reason for not letting him go- one that was similar to his… He wasn't sure about it, though; frankly, he wasn't sure for almost anything right now, maybe with the exception of knowing that _he loved them with all his being…_

"I'll stay." he just said to her a couple of minutes later, but he couldn't find the courage to rest his eyes on her figure- there would be consequences. There was no response from her part and that hurt him a little, but he wouldn't let her see his tears…

"You should eat something; it'd relax you some and provides you vitamins- you both need vitamins right now." Ron spoke again and after taking a quite deep breath, he stood up from his kneeling position; he instantly felt the mere numbness at his knees, but he didn't give much thought to it. He glanced at his wife and saw her nodding her head once as an answer to his words. Ron didn't stay a second more in the room and went to the kitchen. His sudden run out of the room was partly because of his will to make her something to eat; mostly it was because he couldn't stay a moment longer in the same room with her- her presence was bringing him so much pain at the moment and he wanted to escape from this reality for a moment, until he would be all alone and he would set his emotions free, like he did almost every night for this past two months.

He slowly made her a sandwich with everything was needed for her and the baby's nutrition and poured some milk in a glass. He went to the living room and found her sitting on the sofa, her eyes shut and her face seemed to be peaceful. He gazed at her glowing face for a minute, examining the details he knew so well for many years now, and thought for a moment how it could be if she smiled to him once again. He soundlessly left the plate and the glass on the coffee table in front of the sofa and he leaned down to her with caution.

"The food's on the coffee table …sweetie…" he whispered softly so he wouldn't wake her up if she was lightly asleep, but still inform her, knowing that his message would reach the now resting mind of hers sooner or later. He had the urge to kiss the top of her head, just to feel the softness of her curly locks on his skin and just for the perfect scent of hers to reach his soul and warm it a little; but the man decided against it as he straightened his back slowly, his eyes glued on her face.

"Goodnight, Hermione. Goodnight, little one…" he whispered, almost inaudibly this time, and he started to make his way towards the guests' room. When he entered it, he slowly and soundlessly closed the door behind him, before he took his wand from his pocket and put a silencing charm on the room. He gently put the wand on the surface of a small desk there was in the room and then he looked at the empty wall next to the door. With slow steps he approached it and he stared at it for a moment before he abruptly hit it with all the strength he could muster at his tight fist. When his knuckles made the painful contact with the wall, he screamed with a combination of physical, emotional pain and pure agony. Blood started to pour out of his sores but he didn't observe it; he didn't care now for small things such as blood on his hands.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" he screamed and looked at the ceiling with a vulnerable, yet angry, expression on his face, and then he let his impatient tears hit his face again and again and again… "Why is it like this? WHY?" he screamed and while he was crying and sobbing, he started to throw every single thing he would find in his room: the night-stand, the table, every single thing in the room, like he was insane. He broke glasses and mirrors and punched wooden and brick and glass surfaces with his bloody fist and ripped violently the curtains, until there was nothing more to destroy, so he collapsed on the floor near his bed, letting his arms and his head drop on the soft material of the blanket on the bed. He cried and sobbed loudly, with his head in his trembling arms, painting his face with hot, scarlet liquid. He cried and bled more, on his face and his sore hands a blend of tears, blood, sweat and sorrow, but he couldn't care less about his awful state; he just wanted to have _her _again, to hold her in his arms, and soon enough, he wanted to hold their little baby, too. _He wanted them whole. He wanted some peace._

And while he was crying and sobbing and thinking about the good times he wished they would come, his eyelids drifted shut and he fell asleep in what seemed to be a setting-free slumber…

* * *

_- Well, I really hope you like this one; the whole part at the end was an ispiration of the moment, to be honest... I just hope it didn't freak you out or something; Ron- along with Hermione, of course- has a really rough time... _

_-And of course, this is the time I need your REVIEWS!!! Please, I want so badly to know what you think of it..._

_- And I'll try to update as soon as possible. __Until then... :) xxx_


	11. Complications

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story, which I hope you all like... This one was vaguely hard to write, just because it has a lot of events happening and it turned out to be quite longer than usual, but I hope you'll still enjoy it.

**Another Note:** As this story slowly comes to its end, I've to ask you a sort of question: even though at first I had in mind _one _ending for this story, thanks to _wow60_, I came up with another one... Well, even though I know this is a kind of stupid question (as you don't know what's gonna happen in each of them), would you like me to post both of them or just the 'original' one? I'd actually like to know your opinion about this...

Anyway, I'll let you read now. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Complications~_

**3 Months Later **(a.n.: Hermione's been pregnant for 7 months)

Ron, after finishing his work for the day, apparated to the 'Leaky Cauldron', wanting after so much time to go for some shopping. No, Ron wasn't the type of person that loved shopping or doing it just for fun, but that particular day it was a special occasion; it was Hermione's birthday and he intended on buying her something really special, just like she was for him. That was actually the reason he was wandering at Diagon Alley that afternoon, watching carefully various shop windows, trying to catch with his enormous, restless eyes something that would be equal to her unique perfection.

These three months after their big row about his leaving, were quiet and without actual incidents. Hermione started to be friendlier towards him and she stopped avoid him and doing crazy things. Ron, on the other hand, kept on showing her how he cared by doing various things, like helping her with her work as much as he could, doing extra housework so she could rest, going with her to all her appointments at hospital (even though she always insisted on the fact that it wasn't necessary) and such, but he always made sure not to press her and leave her some space, as both of them had to deal with a lot of things, plus she had a cute, little 'quaffle'- as he sometimes liked to tell her so he could make a small hint of smile appear on her lips- to carry all the time. Ron smiled happily as he thought about their little baby that was growing inside her; he was just so happy, even though he still hadn't touched it or something similar; it was just all the warmth, all the power and the energy it gave him from far, giving him just a really good reason to keep going on with his life.

He saw the familiar bookshop from which they used to buy all their books when they were students at Hogwarts. He was sure he would be able to find something there, or it was just worth the try to have a look. He entered the small shop, which was as always full with piles of books that reached the ceiling, and he wandered slowly around the numerous selves, wondering what he should buy for his wife. Everything there seemed dull or like not-at-the-same-level-with-Hermione sort of things, so he was slowly giving up the idea of buying her a book. But that until his eye caught something rather strange. He slowly approached it and peered at it with narrowed eyes; a moment later, his face was lit up with joy. _'This would be fine.'_ he thought happily and grabbed it with a new-found sureness in his movements.

He exited the bookshop some moments later, satisfied with his choice, but not overly so. He loved the present he found for her, but something just said inside him that it wouldn't hurt if he continued his little stroll. Ron at first was quite confused with this sudden 'advice'…? He wasn't even sure how to explain this in words, but he thought that it would be refreshing to do something except from work or being at home; besides, he hadn't been visited a quidditch shop for what seemed to be ages. He started walking near various shop windows with a rather care-free pace, something that was quite unexpected, but totally welcoming. He took his time looking at the new supplies of the quidditch shop, smiling at the sight of many little kids- mostly boys- gazing with eyes full of enthusiasm at the new brooms and the various other supplies; the man daydreamed for a minute how it could be to have their little, adorable child here, squealing with delight as they were watching at a fascinating broom that's just arrived. Ron's smile went from ear to ear at this mere, yet blissful thought.

With great force, he unwillingly left the great sight before his eyes and he continued with his little walk. The crowd started to lessen more and more as he was getting nearer to more old, 'unpopular' stores. He looked around absentmindedly, just thinking when he could go back home to see them, but then, something caught his eye completely and he had to take a couple of steps back, so he could observe it more carefully with his now widened eyes. He stared at it and immediately noticed that it had taken his breath away, just like…

'_This is it. It just couldn't be more perfect…' _he thought, still being hypnotized by the little object, and then he entered the small shop with shaky legs and eyes still focused on the shop window; he was sure this was the perfect present for his Mione and he didn't care if he had already bought her a present- _this _was a different kind of present. The one that symbolized what sort of things came out from his stubborn heart…

…

He reached his place almost an hour later, as he was kind of nervous about the night to come immediately after buying the present. When he entered the place, he felt the hall warmer and friendlier than usual and he felt slight gladness and sureness overwhelm him- it was something he hadn't felt for so much time and he rather liked it, having such pure feelings back again in his scarred soul. He surely walked towards the living room, almost knowing that Hermione would be there, just like almost every night. When he was standing under the doorframe, he looked expectantly in the big, cozy room, scanning it with his huge eyes as he was trying to catch any sort of movement. And he wasn't disappointed, as he saw his wife standing in front of a vaguely small bookcase they had near the fireplace, probably searching for some book. A grin spread across his face while he was staring at the woman some meters away from him, with his, full of love, orbs. He couldn't hold anymore and he opened his mouth a bit, thinking what he should say to catch her attention.

"The healer said to you not to stay stand for too long." the red-haired said somewhat teasingly and saw with satisfaction that he succeeded in his little 'mission'; Hermione turned around startled and looked at him.

"I was looking for a book but I cannot find it." she replied softly as she was looking at him. Ron gave her a soft smile and he drew closer, until he was standing next to her.

"Oh, I'm quite sure that you have a lot more interesting things to do than reading a random book today." he said gently and then he smiled merrily. "Happy birthday, Hermione." Hermione smiled up to him softly.

"Thank you, Ronald." she whispered and then approached an armchair; the man instantly went to help her sit comfortably. When he was sure she was comfortable and she doesn't need anything, he sat in the sofa a few centimeters away and rested his eyes on her glowing face; she was like an angel.

"How was work?" Ron asked gently, wanting terribly much to start some kind of conversation between them. Hermione was probably ok with it, as she started to give her reply with a gently tone that matched his own one.

"It was ok, I guess… lots of paperwork this month, to be honest, but I manage fairly well." Hermione said with a small smile on her lips; Ron felt his heart start to thump fast at the sight of her smile and the man knew that if it had voice, it would yelp with delight.

"You know, Hermione that this isn't good for your and the baby's health; you should take the day off and you should also start to consider about your maternity leave soon, and I'm telling you this as a healer." The redhead said seriously and looked with rather worried eyes at his wife; she, on the other hand, just shook her head lightly.

"You know that I can't take days off from work just like that; I'm Head of the Department! Besides, I'm still fine and I can work for the next month easily enough." Hermione said simply and half-shrugged.

"This is not about how you feel or your position at the Ministry; you're pregnant and you shouldn't work so much these past months of your pregnancy- you should stay home and rest." Ron insisted seriously, worried about them. Hermione smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry, Ron, I know when it's time for me to stop, ok?" she said and stood up. "Come on then, let's go have some dinner, because your child's complaining again… I'm almost sure that they'll inherit your appetite…" she laughed softly and Ron stood up and followed her to the kitchen, laughing gently, too. They went to the room and both faced the table full of various dishes on it. Ron stood still for a moment, looking at the food like he saw something like that for the very first time in his life. Then he abruptly turned his head towards his wife, which caused him to feel and hear a small '_crack_' from the back of his neck.

"That's a lot of food!" he exclaimed rather stupidly and then heard Hermione snickering softly- needless to say that the speed of his pulse raised fast. "I hope you didn't actually make all of this after you came back from work…" he continued, his voice sounded more serious this time.

"No; Ginny said that I shouldn't wear myself out and she made most of them. She also said that she was sorry that they couldn't make it to come tonight and she sent her love, too." Hermione said immediately and sat at the table, with her husband following suit. He poured orange juice for both of them and then he raised his glass in the air, making the brunette to mirror his movements. He smiled happily and looked at her with shining eyes.

"Happy birthday, Hermione" he whispered gently and raised a bit more his glass; he saw Hermione blushing a bit, something he couldn't actually understand, but he was happy, nonetheless.

"To our child…" Hermione said rather shyly and raised her arm, along with her full glass. Ron grinned at her spontaneously and raised his again.

"To you." he said with falsely sure tone in his voice, just to cover his nervousness. "To better times to come…" he continued almost inaudibly and felt his cheeks hot as he looked down at his empty plate. Hermione gave him a small smile.

"To better times." she repeated and took a small sip of her juice. Ron jerked on an instant his head and eyed her carefully, not actually believing that she'd just said what he hoped to hear coming out from her lips one day; he felt his blushing spreading on his face and his ears and he drank some of his juice absentmindedly. Maybe there was still some chance, after all…

…

After their dinner, which was mostly eating and remaining in silence rather than having nothing but some mere talks now and then, Ron and Hermione went back to the sweet warmth of the living room, but this time, both sat on the big sofa. They remained silent for a couple of minutes, feeling quite awkward with each other after so much time, until Ron remembered that he hadn't actually given her the presents yet. He stood up nervously and walked towards the coat-rack, searching blindly with his hand in the pockets of his robes, while he was glancing at Hermione and laughing softly and nervously, just to show her that everything was under control. Hermione was looking at him curiously and she knitted her eyebrows a bit.

"What are you doing there, Ron?" she said and she didn't probably notice that she called him 'Ron' instead of 'Ronald', as she used to call him for these past months after he left the hospital. At the sound of his 'actual' name coming from her lips, he secretly smiled a little to himself.

"You'll see, just wait for a mom- oh! Here it is!" he exclaimed and took a small packet out of his article of clothing and then he went back to sit next to Hermione. He smiled coyly and he stretched his arm a little towards her, telling her without actually using words that the packet's for her. When he sensed that she didn't seem to realize what was going on and that she wouldn't actually take it, he spoke.

"This is for you…" he whispered softly and drew his full hand closer to her form. Hermione seemed startled by his words.

"A present?" she asked him with pure surprise clearly evident in her voice. "There was no need to take me a present…" she continued somewhat incredulously and without that sort of tone that was falsely polite. Ron shook his head gently and looked at her sweetly and warmly.

"I know that there was no need; I just wanted to do this." he whispered gently and sincerely and handed her the present that she hadn't taken yet. Hermione peered at his dark midnight blue orbs.

"Thank you." she said sincerely and took carefully the small packet from his pale hand. She looked a second more deep into his eyes and then looked immediately at the present on her lap, observing the purple taupe wrapping. "What is it?" she asked then curiously; Ron laughed softly and shook his head.

"I'm not going to tell you; just open it and you'll see for yourself what's in there." the man said warmly and stared at her face closely, waiting for her seeing her presents, waiting for her reaction.

Hermione started to open carefully and slowly her present just like always; she didn't want to tear the wrapping up and at the same time, ruin the sweet anxiety of the moment. When she opened it, she looked inside the small box and a beamish smile caused her face to light up beautifully. She took the rather large book out and observed its cover and title happily.

"'_The Witch-mama Guide: How Successful Business-Witches Can Be Perfect Mothers'_… This is wonderful; thank you so much, Ron." She exclaimed happily and squeezed his hand for a moment before she began to look more closely at the book. Ron felt the momentary hotness lingering a bit on the skin of his hand, as it was also spreading over his chest and his crazy heart.

"I'm glad you like it, even though I guess you don't actually need it; I'm sure you'll be a great mother even without reading this." he said truthfully and he saw the thankful look in her dark brown orbs. She looked back again at the book and then he felt nervousness overwhelm him once again, knowing what he had to do now. He swallowed with slight difficulty and he guided his hand towards his trousers' pocket, taking out a small box with navy blue velvet covering it on the outside. He cleared his throat softly and inhaled deeply before taking the courage to speak once again.

"I took you something else as well…" he said unsurely and saw her taking her eyes from the already open book and rested them first on his face and then on the small box. Her eyes slightly widened.

"A-Another present?" she said unsurely in her low voice. "It is already a big deal to buy me _one _present, why did you buy a second one as well?" Ron smiled at her warmly, the depths of his enormous orbs shining with undying love and eagerness to take care of his family.

"I just saw this and I thought it would be perfect for you." he replied in a casual whisper and shrugged a bit. "Come on, open it." he urged her gently and he handed it over to her. Hermione's fingertips stroked for a moment the velvet surface of the box and then she opened it slowly, wanting with some probable curiosity to see that's inside. She only took a mere glimpse of it, but it was already enough for her to let her eyes become three times larger than usual as her face was holding an expression of surprise along with slight excitement and incredulity. She hesitantly caressed the object with her fingers and then looked back at her husband, her eyes shining with thankfulness and probably… slight adoration.

"Oh, Ron, this is so beautiful…" she whispered with her quite shaky voice and starred back at the jewel. It was a necklace with a small, almost flat, silver heart, which was covered with fine, delicate incuses all over and in the middle of it there was a small, somewhat bleary, but at the same time having its own, special lustre, sapphire. It was just perfection… Ron looked at it for a moment and then at Hermione's beamish face, feeling purely happy for, as it seemed, making her so glad and somewhat excited. He saw her took the necklace out of its box and observed it in the light for a short moment.

"I saw it at this little shop on Diagon Alley and it looked perfect, just like they had made it for you; I also saw that it has your birthstone on it, so I thought that made it even better and I just took it; I hope you like it." Ron said a minute later with his coy voice; Hermione peered at his face with a smile that reached beautifully her warm eyes.

"I love it, Ron; thank you so much…" she said with her voice full of sincerity and slight passion; that made Ron feel surer and happier inside. "Can you help me put it on?" she asked gently and he smiled sweetly in response.

"Of course." the man whispered and after handing the jewel over, Hermione turned around a bit, so Ron could fasten it at the back of her neck. He gently put it around her soft skin and slowly fastened the small, silver clip; even though his fingertips barely touched her skin, Ron felt goose bumps appear on his own skin under his shirt. He let his hands drop at his sides and Hermione turned around again so she could face him, and then she looked down at the necklace, while touching it with her fingers.

"What do you think?" she asked excitedly, like she was a little child all over again; the redhead smiled softly at the mere thought.

"It's beautiful, just like you…" he whispered almost inaudibly, but he was staring at her eyes while doing so; Hermione's cheeks became instantly a bit pinker and she looked down at her lap, that was actually half-covered by her vaguely big belly. They remained silent for a couple of minutes, each of them thinking about what to say next, until Hermione spoke first.

"Can I ask you a little sort of favor, Ron?" she said in her low voice. Ron tried to find a clue or something from her tone or her calm expression on her face, but he wasn't able to make out any sort of thing that would show him what she was going to ask him. When he nodded simply and said a reassuring 'yes' as a response, Hermione continued more surely: "Can you tell me about that night?"

Ron, at first, couldn't understand what she was talking about, but when he was about to ask her out aloud, realization hit him; she wanted to know about _that _night…

"What do you want to know about _that_?" he asked her with disgust in his voice as well as disbelief; he was downright sure that this subject would bring a lot of pain to both of them and he wasn't able to realize why the heck his wife wanted him to bring talk to her about this; why did she bring it up like this, especially on her birthday? Hermione, on the other hand, seemed really composed.

"Well, you told me that you… did this with another healer during that meeting, but you didn't tell me about the details." she explained hesitantly and she blushed a bit again. The tone in her voice confused Ron.

"You actually want to know details about… _this_?" he said incredulously and raised slightly his eyebrow. The woman before him seemed quite uneasy.

"Not about _the actual thing_; what I meant to say was… well, what happened before and after and things like that…" she whispered and looked carefully, yet hesitantly at him. Ron still couldn't believe this, but he just took an extremely deep breath and thought about how to start.

"Well, I was at the meeting, as you know of course, and I was trying to find Alfred at some point; when I managed to do so, he was there with this woman and he introduced us to each other. I was quite afraid of her; she was eyeing me all the time with that hungry look like she was a vampire or something…" Ron said with his tone a combination of shame, disgust and slight annoyance from the memory of that woman. He took a deep breath and glanced unsurely towards Hermione; if he saw pain or hurt on her expression, he would stop this nonsense immediately, but the only thing he noticed on her characteristics was curiosity. She nodded softly, as a sign to urge him to keep on, and he did so rather unwillingly.

"Then Alfred had to go somewhere and he left us alone; I was so uncomfortable then and I stared to drink a lot and she kept refilling my glass and flirting… I showed her my wedding band, but she was just so confident and she kept on. And a couple of hours later I think, I just couldn't understand a thing and then I was in a room with her, but at the whole time I was thinking it was you all along…" he said as much as he could remember with as little words as possible. He glanced again at Hermione, but he noticed with puzzlement that she didn't seem angry or hurt; he couldn't give any sort of explanation to this, though. Hermione for a couple of moments didn't speak, just looking into space, until she shook her head lightly and looked at him with her angelic eyes carrying calmness inside them.

"What… I mean, what happened between you two?" she asked shyly and nervously, but her tone wasn't the one thing that startled Ron- her question was much more surprising.

"Why do you want to know about this sort of thing?" he asked with confusion and mere annoyance evident in his words, while he closed the distance between his eyebrows. Hermione looked at him rather steadily, even though her blush spread on her lovely cheeks.

"I want to know, that's all…" she answered shyly and looked at the fabric of the couch until she heard his smooth, deep voice once again.

"At first she was flirting with me all the time and I made the mistake once to tell her that she must be young, in a sort of surprised tone, but of course, she thought it was a compliment and then it was kind of settled or something… I don't know, I mean, then I started drinking too much and stammering like a bloody fool and then I must have told her that I'm married, but she was just so… so horny and thirsty or something… and then I remember that we had sex and I kept telling your name…" he whispered shamefully and let his head hung miserably, not daring to look at his perfect wife. There was silence for a minute or so and then she spoke.

"And what you did when…when it ended?" she asked rather curiously. Ron exhaled all the air there was in his lungs and inhaled again deeply, wanting better circulation over his brain.

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked her with mock anger, but he was laughing lightly nonetheless, finding the situation now quite hilarious now, even though he couldn't understand the reason. "I ran away, well before I wore back my clothes; I was scared as if I'd seen a clan of Aragog's kids and totally pissed, but I had still some sense as to put my clothes to their right place…" he said and laughed again, this time a bit louder. His sudden behavior was downright weird and maybe kind of rude as well, and he was suddenly afraid of that probably making Hermione really angry and hurt with all these comments of his and his laughter, so he slowly turned his eyes towards her form, scanning her face for any sort of emotions; with awe and yet some relief, he saw and heard her slightly sniggering. She looked at him with slightly shining eyes.

"I guess that this woman must have been really scary, then…" she just said and even though her lips were just forming a beautiful, little smile, her almond-like eyes were laughing all along; Ron couldn't felt happier at the moment; he was almost sure that better times were approaching them fast- there was still chance, he could feel it; it was almost tangible…

"Yeah, really scary…" he said lowly and then stared into her eyes, loving the fire he saw in there after all these months of only seeing the ice. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, sitting next to each other in comfortable silence, staring at each other's orbs. Then something occurred to Ron and he spoke it out aloud without much hesitation.

"Can I speak to the baby?" he asked and slightly begged her with his eyes. Hermione smiled gently up to him.

"Of course you can; I think he or she should recognize your voice when they're born." she said softly and leaned her back more comfortably at the back of the couch, leaving him more space. He looked unsurely at her for a second, and when he saw her reassuring smile towards him and her gentle nod, he took a deep breath and he leaned his head closer to her swollen abdomen.

"Hello, little one…" he whispered smoothly and looked lovingly at the bulge, even though all he could see was the light blue fabric of his wife's blouse. "My name's daddy… well, no… my name's Ron, but you'll call me daddy, 'cause I'm _your_ daddy… Anyway, you know what day is today? Today's mummy's birthday and we won't ever forget this birthday, do you know why? Because it's mummy's first birthday with a big tummy and with you being here with the two of us- isn't it wonderful? And you know something, baby? I already love so much and I'm sure mummy loves you, too, and we can't wait to see you and hug you and play with you and be a happy family together…" he said lovingly and he sighed happily, thinking of them playing with a little child in the garden. He looked up at his lovely Mione, seeing something beautiful shining in her eyes, which he didn't dare to name it, but he was surely captivated by it. He felt the warmth that was coming from her belly and he felt his hand aching to do something and he expectantly looked up at her again.

"Can…" he swallowed nervously and tried again "Can I…" he couldn't finish his sentence, thinking he was asking too much, but then a small smile and nod from her made him forget about such thoughts. He slowly placed his warm, rather shaky and sweaty palm on her belly, feeling the warmth of their baby even better. He smiled happily and care-freely and his thumb started to move on the thin fabric of the blouse, letting him feel some of the skin underneath it. He arched his fingers softly a minute later, he let his fingertips caressing her belly in what seemed to be up and down sort of motions, feeling a sweet kind of power overwhelm him in an awesome way. He suddenly felt like something stirring from inside Hermione's stomach and softly hitting his hand. His eyes widened with awe and his lips parted a bit, not being able to believe that _that _happened. He looked at Hermione, like he wanted some sort of confirmation from her. She smiled to him beamishly.

"The baby's just kicked." she whispered happily. "It shows their response to your words… Because I'm sure our child will love you, too…" she continued softly and a moment later, the man felt the temperature of his palm increasing immediately. He looked down unsurely and saw her palm resting on top of his own one, which in turn, was resting on her abdomen. He swallowed nervously and looked back at her unsurely, seeing her really small smile still on her full lips. He shifted a bit and as a result, the movement brought him closer to her form, but he didn't seem to notice much. He absentmindedly entwined his long finger with her cute, little ones, just to feel the heat they generated together more clearly. His eyes half-closed as he was looking at her captivating ones and his lips parted a bit, his tongue stirred a little, aching to savor the intoxicating taste of her pink, full lips.

He slowly closed the distance between them and he covered her lips with his half-opened ones. The moment was breathtaking and Ron felt that he was able to fly without a broom right then. The taste of hers was sweet and amazing, exactly the same and yet, unlike any other time he remembered. He pressed a bit more his lips on hers, but still gently, and he felt his tongue slowly moving forward, eager to part her juicy lips and mate with her own one, making him, as a result, the merriest, more powerful man in the entire world. It kept moving and moving in a slow pace and it was only few millimeters away from fulfilling its want; it was just about to make the precious contact with her sweet lips…

Ron abruptly pulled away and glanced at Hermione's face and half-closed eyes, before looking at the small, empty space between them. He felt not so good for doing this, not because he didn't want it or something, but because, even if things were much better now, they weren't still on the 'stage' when they could kiss each other again and with his action, he may pressed her without realizing it or made her feel sad or something similar. He exhaled softly and suddenly his eyes rested on their still entwined hands.

"Sorry." He mumbled unsurely and he felt his cheeks getting really hot. He saw her from the corner of his eye nodding once and he felt her hand squeezing gently and reassuringly his, before she gently pulled it away. He slowly turned his face towards hers and stared at each other calmly for a rather long moment, silently agreeing on forgetting about this weak moment of showing affection. Ron was kind of relieved that nothing worse happened, but still ached slightly inside for not being able to show his feelings as freely as he wanted. He took a glimpse of his watch on his wrist and his noticed the clock fingers closely.

"Wow, how quickly time passes sometimes; it's already half past ten!" he said showing his surprise openly. She eyed him carefully for a second and then nodded. "I think we should call it a day and turn in, especially you; you need your rest if you want to go to work tomorrow and besides, you had an exhausting day today."

"You're probably right; I should go to bed…" Hermione said lowly as she saw him standing up from his seat. "But I think I'll start to read the book you gave me; it seems really interesting and most possibly full of useful tips…" she said quickly, looking really eager about the prospect. Ron laughed softly for a second.

"If you think you can stand this, but you should go to sleep early, ok? Don't make yourself read the whole book tonight!" he said vaguely teasingly with his soothing voice and he helped his wife stand up. He stared at her deep brown orbs for a brief moment and then he smiled down to her sweetly.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Ron whispered warmly and then he lightly brushed her swollen tummy with his fingertips. "Goodnight, baby." Hermione looked at him with something between pride for him and adoration.

"Goodnight, Ron." The redhead smiled one more time to her and after making sure she didn't need anything else and she was ok, he went to his room, with bliss filling perfectly his insides.

Needless to say, that night he slept without shedding even a single tear before, and resting his mind for some merry, blissful hours…

…

'_Ron!' _he heard suudenly a distant voice coming from what it seemed to be many kilometers away. The voice seemed rather familiar, but as Ron was sleeping peacefully, he didn't think much of it; he just shifted into his bed to get himself more comfortable, as a smile was still evident on his face since last night.

'_Ron!' _he heard again, but this time the vaguely familiar voice sounded closer to him and he noticed that it sounded urgent as well. _'Ron, help! Ron!' _the voice was clearly audible now and hit his eardrums somewhat mercilessly and urgently. He opened his eyes abruptly and leapt to his feet a second later, his face extremely pale and his eyes widened; he could still hear her screams, but this time her voice was totally clear and made his hair at the back of his neck stand from the inexistent cold he felt on his spine.

_Hermione… The baby…_

Mere seconds later, he was in her room, scanning the whole room around to notice any sort of danger, then, with his wand in hand, he immediately drew closer to his wife, who was half-lay on their- now her- bed, with her bended legs wide open under the sheets and her palms on her belly. Tears were wetting her white as sheet face as she was sobbing and shaking quite violently. Ron was scared by the sight, but instantly sat next to her and grasped one of her hands.

"What happened, Hermione?" he asked worriedly. Hermione tried to take a breath between her uncontrollable sobs.

"Blood… on the sheets… on the legs… our baby…" she only managed to tell with her shaky voice. Ron's face lost any of its mere rosiness and immediately took the sheets away from her body and examined with his eyes the little blood stains on the sheets and her legs; he knew that he should be collected right now, otherwise it would be dreadful.

"Calm down, Mione; I'll do some spells on you to check on the baby, but you need to be calm, otherwise you won't do any good to the baby, ok?" he said with as much calmness as his voice could muster and he started to cast a series of scanning spells on her, checking her and the baby's health. After five dreadful, long minutes, Ron stopped casting spells and let a breath that he hadn't noticed he was keeping all this time, escape from his mouth.

"Everything's fine; everything's alright, love, the baby's all right…" he said tiredly and wiped the sweat from his forehead and temples with the back of his hand. Without thinking about it, he hugged Hermione warmly and buried his face into her bushy hair, kissing them protectively. "Everything's fine, sweetie…" he whispered again and a moment later, he pulled away gently.

"I-I was so scared, Ron…" Hermione said and looked at him with the fear from earlier still evident in her wet eyes. Ron felt awful for seeing her like this.

"Don't worry, Mione, it's over now and nothing's wrong…" the man tried to reassure her gently. "But you have to rest more; you press yourself so much and that's not healthy for both of you. I believe you should take the day off and rest." he continued seriously and saw her nod her head immediately.

"Thank you so much, Ron…" Hermione whispered with still rather shaky voice a moment later; the red-haired shook his head gently.

"Don't mention it at all; I'm your husband and it's the minimum I can do for you. The only think I just ask you to do is to stay here and rest; I would stay too, but I have to go to work, we have a crucial sort of surgery spells to cast on a patient… Anyway, I'll owl mum and tell her come here every now and then and check on you." Ron said straightaway and stood up.

"Send me a message if something's happened, alright?" he said softly and when he saw her nod and slight smile, he leaned down and kissed her vaguely sweaty forehead and brushed her belly with the back of his hand.

"Have a good day at work, Ron." Hermione said and smiled thankfully up to him; her husband gave her another warm, reassuring smile and wished her good morning, before going to change his clothes and then going to work, his mind all the time to his wife and their little baby until he flooed back to their home in the evening.

…

**1 week later**

Ron was in his office shortly after his lunch break, his loads of work not letting him waste much time. He was filling out various forms and reading files with his patients' health progress. He was too engrossed that he didn't actually hear the urgent knocks on his door, and he only understood that someone wanted to come in when a student nurse came in abruptly and without actually waiting for his permission. Ron immediately stood up.

"What the heck you think you're doing, McDowell? Some people need their tranquility when they're working." He said rather impatiently and looked with knitted eyebrows at the young man in front of him, who was trying to catch his breath from probable running.

"Healer Weasley… this is urgent… your wife… they brought her here a few minutes ago…" the young man said breathlessly and straightened his back a bit. All the blood drained instantly from Ron's face and his brain stopped working for a mere second, before he ran towards the nurse and grabbed him from the neckband of his robes forcefully.

"What did you say? You know that people don't make fun of such important things, young boy." Ron said furiously and shook violently the student nurse, who seemed to be now afraid of the Head Healer.

"No, Healer Scott told me to come here immediately and tell you that Mrs. Weasley was brought here after having crucial problems with her pregnancy while she was at work." he said quickly and Ron dropped his arms briskly to his sides. He didn't wait for any sort of confirmation or any other word coming out of the nurse's mouth; he just ran out of his office and towards the ward he knew they sent the urgencies. He ran and ran and ran, his breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat as his mind was itself running with full speed, praying for everything to be fine, for his Mione to be alright, for their little baby to be alive, because if it couldn't make it… He couldn't think of the possibility, no; there was no way for this to happen… no… no… _NO!!!_

He kept on screaming inside while he was running like a mad man, shoving and slamming people that stood on his way, driving him more seconds away from his two loves… away from his family…

'_Lord, why are You doing this to us, why?'_ he thought while he was still running, not caring about being rude or anything towards the others. _'Just let them be alright, my Lord, don't let anyone harm them; don't make me see one of my loves die, no… Just take me instead of them, take _my _life, but not one of theirs, I beg you…'_

"NO!!!" he screamed while he was climbing down the stairs like he was insane, the only thing in his mind was for them to be safe and sound, nothing more…

* * *

_- Well, what do you think of it? I believe this is another cliff, but anyway; I just hope you all enjoy this chapter...!_

_- And of course you know that I need your FEEDBACK right now!!! It would be so much appreciated!_

_- And I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	12. PE 1: Cure

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story, which is also the first chapter of the first possible ending of this story (_P.E.= Possible Ending_). Each of the two possible endings will have 2 chapters, according to my plans; this is the 'original' sort of ending of the story... Moreover, I'd like to thank you for the few reviews the story received and I hope the outcome won't dissapoint you...

Anyway, I'll let you read now... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Possible Ending 1.1- Cure~_

Ron finally reached the ward after what seemed to him slow-passing years. He turned his head around abruptly, glancing around with extreme worry that he could clearly feel hit with force the walls of his veins. He opened without shame any door it was within his visibility range, just wanting to find where they were; he wanted so badly to see them and make sure they were alright, that nothing wrong or bad had happened to them… He didn't dare to think of such dreadful prospects; it would drive him totally insane.

"HERMIONE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, shutting his eyelids painfully and then he felt hot droplets escaping from between his long eyelashes. Where did they hide his loves?

Suddenly he heard a worried, high-pitched voice stemming from some meters away from him. He half-opened his heavy eyelids and he saw a familiar figure; it took him a couple of seconds to realize it was Healer Scott, but when he did, he ran unsteadily and dizzily towards the room she was coming from. The man looked at her with his wet eyes full of worry and agony.

"Where are they?" he whispered with his shaky tone, his body mirroring faithfully the way his voice sounded. "How are they?" He didn't actually waited for an answer, even though he so much wanted one, and he let his restless pupils scan the room, trying to find a mere, but still so precious hint of her- their presence in the room. He immediately saw her bushy, golden brown locks and he ran towards them, her form drawing him close like a powerful magnet. The red-haired kneeled next to the bed she was lying restlessly and grasped her sweaty hand with his violently shaky one. Then, with his other hand, he took some wet with sweat locks away from her extremely pale face. He felt his tears constantly hitting his face and forcefully swallowed his upcoming sobs, as he was looking with fearful, wide eyes at her wet ones.

"Everything's gonna be ok… everything's gonna be fine, love…" he kept whispering to Hermione, his face near to hers, not daring to pull away from her and losing her and the baby completely.

"Ron, Hermione has lost so much blood and there is also a possibility of dying if she doesn't give birth to the baby now." Healer Scott said urgently as she was pacing impatiently around the room, trying to find various potions and pills. Hearing these words, Ron let a sob escape from his pale, dry lips and he squeezed his wife's hand, like their firm grip was life-depending for all three of them.

"A-And the b-baby… How's t-the baby?" he asked while crying and sobbing. He saw the healer looking sadly at him and cold travelled down his spine; what had happened to their little baby, _what_?

"The baby has to be born, but I… I don't know if he or she will make it through the process… I cannot guarantee you anything, Ron…" she said sadly and a second later she was on the other side of Hermione's bed, in her hand a small bottle with a dark purple potion Ron recognized as one that reduced muscle pain; he was afraid of worse coming towards them and he was constantly praying not happening anything to both of them… He felt his chest tighten painfully at the mere thought.

Healer Scott went and sat before the edge of the bed and gently opened more widely Hermione's legs; the woman near the redhead whimpered with pain and Ron kissed the knuckles of the hand he had entwined with his own one. They looked at each other's already tired eyes for a second, each wanting to reassure and at the same time, to be reassured that everything would be fine, that they would make it… _together_.

"Hermione, I know that this is going to hurt, but you need to muster all your strength and give a push, ok?" the healer said and put her hands near the other woman's womanhood, casting a spell with her wand before speaking again: "Ok, Hermione, now take some deep breaths, if we do this right, you won't feel much pain and it'll be over soon." Hermione tried to nod once and between her cries and soft sobs, she took shaky, deep breaths, while grabbing back her husband's trembling hand. "Now, Hermione, I'll count to three and I want you to push as with much strength as you can, alright?" she let some more painful and agonizing seconds to pass, letting the pregnant woman to adjust the information and the slight pain which was coming in waves, and then she said for the first time the awful, little words: "One, two… three- push!"

An awful scream filled the air inside the room and Ron felt it tear his insides apart mercilessly. His eyes never left Hermione's face from their sight, as she was pushing painfully. Her head hit the pillow a second later and she weakly closed her eyelids, giving the mere opportunity to more tears to pour down her face, as sweat was shining sickly on the skin of her face and neck. The man looked at the other side of the bed with the tail of his eye, but the only thing he was able to make out with his quick, painful glance was red colour, so much red… _Blood-red…_

"Ok, Hermione, just rest for a few seconds and try to muster your strength; I know this is hard, but you have to give another push." Mrs. Scott said as she was observing her opening. Hermione whimpered in pain and Ron looked once again at her.

"I-I can't… can't d-do this… I c-can't…" she whispered weakly and looked for a second at the healer before turning her wet orbs with toil towards him; he instantly squeezed her hand.

"We… We'll make it, Mione… I'm here… I-I'll never leave you… a-and the baby will be a-alright and we will be a f-family together…" he whispered while sobbing softly himself, not daring to think of other scenarios their fates would probably have written for them; it would just kill him inside, much worse than a mere kiss of a Dementor. He was just wishing and praying for the best… the best…

"On three, Hermione…" he heard again Scott's soothing voice and shut his eyes with force, waiting for the upcoming screams of his wife to scar his memory once again. "One… Two… _Three_"

Another scream… Another push… Another rip… Another fit of bitter tears and chocked-out sobs… Another wave of pain and agony and prays…

"That's it, dear, the baby's on its way; in a minute you're going to push again, so take more, deep breaths, alright?" Ron heard from somewhere near them the healer, but he didn't turned his head towards the source of the sound; the only thing he was able to do at the moment was looking at Hermione's sweaty, pain-scarred, tear-stained, pale face, which showed the concentration, among other things, that she had at the moment. He just remained there, kneeling besides her, as he felt his chest tighten and his stomach clench painfully, while a dark part of his mind was constantly filling his head with dreadful images: bloody hands… _his _hands… _her_ blood… _their baby's_ blood… the baby dead in his arms… Hermione dying… him seeing both of them dying… _no…._

Screams were burning his throat but he still didn't let them escape; the only thing that was stemming out from him was his bitterly salty tears and big amounts of sweat, showing his pure agony, worry, fear and pain, both emotional and physical. From somewhere near him he heard a voice, an agonizingly slow voice… "…_three…_"

He heard Hermione's piercing cry once again, which was followed by another and then another. Ron felt his eardrums throbbing sorely and he wanted to just rip them, so he wouldn't listen to this unpromising, deadly buzz in his ears ever again. His felt his puffy eyes stung from a sudden, inexplicable dryness and he blinked furiously, just to bring back the also unwelcoming wetness. Next to him, Hermione was whimpering and sobbing from the pain and he forced himself to squeeze and kiss reassuringly her hand, making sure she didn't forget he was there with her; his emotional power started to diminish and he felt really weak, but he wouldn't ever leave their side.

"I see the baby's head, dear; that's a good sign. Now, take more deep breaths and on three you'll give a hard push, alright?" the healer said calmly and after a couple of seconds she said the already known to them, quote: "One… two… three."

Hermione's head dropped forward as she was pushing with the whole power her weak, petite body actually didn't have, but somehow managed to find. Her cries were the worst so far and Ron just wanted to do something to take her pain away. Giving birth wasn't supposed to cause so much pain, yet it was Hermione that taking it in huge dozes at the moment, like the whole pain she was taking all these past months was nothing, like she had to face worse…

"That's it, Hermione dear, you have to give now one final push and it'll be over soon; in twenty-five seconds, dear." Healer Scott said reassuringly and quickly went to a bench near them so she could take a couple of bottles. Ron then turned his eyes towards his wife, noticing that she was looking at him with half-closed eyes.

"It's gonna be ok, Mione… Remember at your birthday? We toasted for the better times… They'll come, I promise." He whispered with his cracked voice and kissed her extremely white knuckles once again; he saw her nodding once weakly and he felt a mere hint of relief inside him. He knew that promising such fragile, uncertain things could be even considered as a crime, but he had to do this, just to give her the emotional strength and the reassurance she so much needed at the moment; it was just for her momentary sake…

"Ok, Hermione, it's time for your final push, take a deep breath and it'll be over in a few seconds, dear… One… two… _three_." Mrs. Scott said and then Ron heard Hermione's screams again, echoing mercilessly in his ears, but he didn't care about it at the moment; his eyes were restlessly traveling from his wife's painful expression, to the healer's work and back again. Even though time was flowing regularly like every single day, to the man it seemed like the seconds were passing like years; every 'tick' from the clock was painfully loud and slow; every colour was drained from the room, leaving only some dull, unpromising tints of grey in it; every beat from his heart could be clearly heard during this grave-like silence; every little doze of oxygen that entered from his burning nostrils was becoming heavy and solid into his lungs… And the only thing he did was waiting for the miracle…

His hearing suddenly became clearer and his vision wasn't a blur anymore, as he heard slightly hoarse cries; he looked expectantly at his Mione, who leaned tiredly her head on the pillows and gave him a small, almost non-existent, smile. He started to shake as he kept hearing the mere cries and he felt his heartbeats increase rapidly. His head instantly dropped next to hers and tears started to freely shed and course down his pale cheeks.

"Congratulations, dears, your baby is alive and healthy and it's a little baby girl." Ron heard the healer saying and he started to sob softly, thanking Lord for answering his prays. He raised his head a little bit and after glancing at her face for a moment, he rested his forehead on Hermione's one gently, letting more tears, but this time blissful, relieving ones, escape from his enormous, puffy eyes. He looked down at Hermione, who was silently crying and starring back at him, too, and he felt some sort of peace inside him.

"We have a l-little baby girl, Mione… A b-beautiful, little girl…" he whispered and let a small, soft smile appear on his lips while theirs tears were blending with their sweat and their bliss. He bent down and kissed her wet forehead softly, lingering for a few seconds before whispering again, his moving lips brushing her skin: "I love you… both of you… so, so much…"

~o~

"I love you… both of you… so, so much…" Hermione heard her husband saying with his weak, shaky voice after feather-kissing her sweaty forehead. The small amount of welcoming, familiar warmth lingered inside her and eased the pain, physical and emotional, a bit. The little, soft cries of their baby were still audible, as the healer was cleaning it and casting some spells on it. Ron stayed on there with her one more moment, unintentionally mending their pain and invisible scars, healing their wounds even a little bit, until the woman healer came near them with a little baby in a pink, fluffy towel; _their baby…_

She saw Ron standing up with some difficulty, as his knees were shaking violently, probably from kneeling on the marble floor for so much time; he grabbed the back of a chair behind him and after adjusting clumsily his weight, he sat on the chair, closing his heavy eyelids for a bit, some tears still hooked on his long eyelashes.

She turned her tired eyes towards the healer and mostly at the baby in her arms. Without realizing how, she was half-lying on the bed a second later, after the older woman helped her drink some potions, she gave her carefully the little girl; a sudden wave of reassuring, balmy warmth encircled her gently as the bare skin of her arms made contact with the towel that covered their child. She looked down at it with shiny eyes, observing every little detail she could find. She had a cute, little head, with rosy cheeks and small pink lips. Her nose was also small, with nostrils that moving in a peaceful pace, as the baby girl was taking her first, precious breaths. Hermione then saw the upper part of her head, where a little fuzz of locks in the colour of peach had already made its appearance. The woman sighed softly and happily and then, despite her tiredness, she made out the small movements of the baby's orbs from under her eyelids and a second later, the little girl opened slowly her eyes, revealing the colour of the huge irises; Hermione let an almost inaudible, soft gasp escape from her lips, as she was staring at the eyes of her daughter: they had the most beautiful, yet very familiar colour of crystal blue she knew so well- the colour of clear blue sky during a warm, spring morning… the colour Ron's eyes held every single morning, opening after a peaceful slumber, showing his still apparent innocent, his playfulness, his… love…

She looked at her husband, observing his appearance: he was still very pale, paler than he usually was, his face was full of tear stains as purplish half-moons were evident under his eyes, which were still closed. His lips were pale and dry, and his bottom lip was slightly trembling, while his sandy hair was wet from sweat and sticking to his face. She thought that his appearance most possibly mirrored her own, and then she thought that his countenance was more awful than it should be; it was actually like _he _was the one that had been giving birth to a child, along with her. She stayed just like that for a moment, staring gently at Ron's form, thinking of one million things she had forgotten she could feel and think, and then she saw him opening slowly and rather tiredly his eyes, revealing his navy blue eyes. He smiled at her softly and stood up, taking a couple of steps so he was next to her, and then sat on the small, empty space of her bed, looking for a second at her and then she noticed that his pupils traveled to their daughter; his orbs instantly shone with pure happiness, as she was sure hers looked like, as well. She let her stare drop from her husband to their little girl after a brief moment, now fully realizing how much Ron and the baby girl were look alike; it was actually perfection…

They stayed like this for a minute or two, comfortable silence hugged the three of them warmly; that until Hermione heard his deep, sweet voice echoing gently in her ears.

"She's so beautiful… She's like a baby-angel…" he whispered and the woman saw his long fingers approaching hesitantly the baby's head and then the skin of his fingertips brushed softly and cautiously her forehead, like he was afraid of harming the fragile little girl. Hermione thought for a mere second about a sudden thought that occured to her, and then she spoke.

"Do you want to take her in your arms?" she whispered softly and saw his head jerking softly and his eyes peering into hers; warmth reached, in an amazing way, her heart.

"Can I?" he asked unsurely and his eyes showed his slight nervousness, too. She immediately gave him a reassuring smile, not wanting to see him like this.

"Of course you can; she's your daughter, too, you know…" she said and she carefully gave the baby to her husband. For a short moment, he looked still unsure, but then Hermione assumed that he felt the warmth as well, when she saw his handsome face beautifully glowing with happiness, as his eyes never left the sight of the little baby girl. The woman stayed like this, observing the sight before her eyes with delight, knowing that this so simple, yet so perfect, image would never abandon her and her memory: the sight of her wonderful husband looking with pure, undying love down at their new-born baby girl, while an almost identical pair of eyes was examining for the first time his own one, was indescribable in the most amazing, lovely, unique way. And, at this very moment, she was utterly sure, without a mere trace of doubt inside her, that she couldn't leave without this man for even a second, and from now on, she wouldn't be able to live without their little girl, as well; they were simply her entire world.

She stared deeply into Ron's eyes, memorizing their almost round, huge shape, their almost permanent shine and the rich colour of their irises, which- she knew very well- had the ability to change to various tints of blue, according to his momentary mood. She knew the mistakes that had been made (_their _mistakes, and not only _his_) and she knew that the cuts in their souls and hearts were deep and maybe some of them even permanent, but she also knew that there was no possible way to survive in this world without him; it wasn't out of force or out of fear of public humiliation, it was simply because of the strong bonds of love they had made _together_, and there was actually _no way_ to break them. She knew that there was still healing to do and wounds to mend, but the cure had been just found, and a strong, promising feeling of the better times coming overwhelmed her.

'_Yes, because better times gonna come… Everything's fine…' _she thought and she closed her eyes peacefully, the image of her husband and their little girl filling her head and helping her to drift into a peaceful slumber.

_And better times were coming…_

* * *

_-Well, what do you think? I really hope you all like this chapter; I believe it's really emotional and such, but I think it's quite understandable for the particular moment (in my humble opinion, anyway...)_

_- And now, the thing I desperately wish for you to do is to give me some FEEDBACK! It'd be brilliant!_

_-And, of course, I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	13. PE 1: Epilogue

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story, which is also the final chapter of the 1st possible ending of this story. I'm so happy for your lovely words and your reviews and I'd like to thank you so much for either sending your good words or mentioning things that you probably don't like; either way, I'm benefit or something! :)

Anyway, I'll just let you read now. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Possible Ending 1.2- Epilogue~_

**6 years later**

It was a sunny, Sunday morning during the spring, and Ron was with Hermione on the backyard of their house, sitting on a blanket that was lying gracefully on the lawn. The man was reading an article on the newspaper at the moment, fixing his glasses on the bridge of his nose every now and then so he could get a more prefect view of the little letters before his angelic orbs, while his wonderful wife was sitting next to him, letting her head drop on his shoulder care-freely as watching the lovely view some meters in front of her. After a minute, the redhead took off his pair of glasses and put the newspaper aside, then shifting a little so he could have Hermione on his warm embrace. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, silent in each other's embrace, never getting bored of these sort of simple, yet so brilliant moments between them. The comfortable silence was broken though, when the married couple heard of a happy, high-pitched, girly squeal that was stemming from some meters away from them; they both looked at the source of this wonderful noise rather curiously and a second later both smiled happily, the man even let a short laugh escape from his full lips.

"I can't really understand how this can always happen and yet she seems not to realize that; I mean, come on! Every time he says to her that he has found this little frog or lost kitten and she believes him!" Ron exclaimed with mock annoyance in his tone, but he still didn't try to hide his soft laughter. Hermione laughed along with him for a brief moment before she rested her head more comfortably on the crook of his neck, smelling his manly, always apparent scent.

"They are little children, Ron, what do you expect them to do? They're just playing!" she said simply, with a tone in her voice that clearly told him that the fact was just so obvious, and shook her head lightly. Ron snorted softly.

"They're _our little children_, Mione; that alone is supposed to make them extremely smart!" he said and widened his eyes, showing her the obviousness and the 'seriousness' of his statement; this time it was Hermione's time to snort lightly and roll her eyes. They stayed silent for a few more moments, gazing at the two small figures that were at the far end of the big garden, running and playing around happily. The sight was now so simple and usual for the pair, but it still captivated them completely, like it was the very first time they watched it once again. After some minutes of silence, with the couple looking at their children and occasionally stealing a balmy, tender kiss or closing their eyes just to let the warmth of the sunbeams caress their skin, Ron heard noises again and peered at the garden before him with narrowed eyes and stretched neck; a second later, his deep voice could be heard clearly, filling the air fully.

"Rose! Don't try to take Crookshanks eye out with that stick again!" he said loudly so the two little figures could hear him; the two red-haired children immediately turned their heads towards him and smiled and waved at the older couple happily.

"Hi Dad! Hi Mum!" they squealed delightfully in unison and resumed on their previous activities shortly after. Ron waved back with a beamish smile across his handsome face, while Hermione opened her eyes and looked at their children with shining eyes. They sat there for a bit more, just gazing at the little, energetic forms until the woman spoke softly.

"Aren't they beautiful?" she said softly and instantly heard a sniggering sound coming from behind her, the light vibrations coming from his broad chest sort of stroked her little back warmly. "I mean, look at them; it' been four years since Hugo's been born and now they're playing together…" she sighed happily and a second later Ron followed suit.

"Yeah, I know… time passes so fast now that we have them; we have to run all day to make sure they didn't break something or try to disembowel some pour little animal…" he said with a slightly dreamy voice and sighed again care-freely. Hermione laughed softly and its echoes could be still heard in his ears.

"They probably inherited your healing skills, Ronnie dear, and just experiment with it." she said simply and then she couldn't hold back and she laughed heartily. Ron made a grimace and pinched her arm teasingly.

"Ha ha." the man made a sarcastic, little laugh and then let his chin rest on her shoulder, his eyes never left the children. "Oh, I forgot!" he said a minute later and then he started to murmur under his breath inapprehensible things. The brunette pulled away from his arms a bit and looked at him curiously, her eyebrows knitted lightly.

"What happened again, Ron?" she said rather impatiently. "Did you forget to pay the bill yesterday? I swear you-"

"No, Mione, of course I paid the bill, what do you thing I am, some kind of goldfish?" he cut her off immediately, but then he looked with knitted eyebrows and narrowed eyes at nowhere specifically, probably wondering for a moment if he actually _had _paid the bill. "Anyway, that's not the point! I want to tell you something and I forgot to do so yesterday, that's all!"

"And what's so important to say that when you remembered it, you started cursing?" she asked teasingly and for hat, she received a mock, dark glare from her husband and another little pinch on the forearm.

"Tobias told me that there is a meeting being held next week and he invited me as well…" he said quickly and he blushed a bit; he seemed really nervous. Hermione looked at him cautiously.

"Oh" she just said, her mind wandering to their past. "That's ok; you really need a break after so much work you had put yourself into." she said sincerely. Ron looked at her seriously for a moment without speaking and then a handsome, lop-sided grin appeared on his face; Hermione instantly felt her knees become weak at the sight, even though she was sitting down.

"Do you think your parents can take care of the children that day? If not, I have to tell mine soon, then…" he whispered lovingly and started to nibble her earlobe slowly and gently. Hermione had a rather hard time to understand his words, but after a couple of brief moments, her eyes slightly widened with surprise.

"What? I can take care of them while you're away, why couldn't-" she started, but her voice trailed off abruptly, not sure if her conclusions were right ones. Ron stopped with his affectionate actions and smiled gently, even though she couldn't see it.

"Because you're going to come with me; I need to show off _my way_, sweetie." For that, of course, he received a quite hard hit on the shoulder, but he laughed heartily. Hermione was still surprised and vaguely confused. "I said to Tobias that there's no way to come without you to the meeting and he said that you are welcome as well; it's not actually that you're extrinsic or something!" he continued, so some of her unasked questions would be answered. Hermione was still looking at him with a weird expression on her face.

"Why you want me to go with you?" she whispered softly and leaned in to him unconsciously, her warm, brown eyes never leaving his enormous, cobalt blue ones. He leaned in a bit too.

"Because I want someone to keep an eye on me; I don't trust myself much…" Realizing what he said and how deadly serious the conversation had suddenly become, he continued quickly: "Besides I want everyone to see how beautiful and gorgeous my wife is."

"I think you're becoming a little bit possessive at the moment." Hermione teased him softly and smiled sweetly up to her husband, not mentioning his first, slightly self-conscious comment. "Is that all? Just some showing off?" Ron laughed lightly.

"And due to the fact that I need you all the time." Ron whispered softly in her ear and then he feather-kissed her earlobe gently. "And I need you because I love you. So, so much…" he continued and he softly kissed the angle of her jaw line. She smiled warmly at him and kissed lightly the corner of his red lips.

"I love too, dear, and I'd love to come to the meeting with you; I'm so proud of you and I love it every time I hear someone praises your work." she whispered in her warm voice and Ron's eyes immediately shone with more love and inexplicable innocence; that was actually one of the most beautiful things on him: his adorable innocence, which somehow never abandoned him, but letting him remain a lovable, little child for all his life.

"Thank you, sweetie." the man whispered with his deep voice and kissed her tenderly, letting their kiss deepen a couple of seconds later. Hermione lost herself in the kiss, but a short moment later, she pulled away slowly, but still remaining really close to him, their lips almost brushing.

"Rose and Hugo are right there, love; we can't kiss like that in front of them…" she said and pecked his lips sweetly. Ron whimpered softly with expectancy clearly evident on his face, as he was leaning in for more, while she was pulling away.

"I can't get used to the fact that I cannot kiss you whenever and wherever I want to now; I want to be with you all the time, not only emotionally, if you're getting my point…" he said the last part quite slyly and his wife laughed gently.

"I know… But it's still wonderful to have these two, little kids." she said and glanced at them with eyes full of love. Ron looked at her eyes and smiled lovingly, fully understanding how she felt; he felt about all three of them exactly the same way.

"Yeah, wonderful…." he whispered absentmindedly, his mind wandering to all the happiness he felt during the years, the good feelings overpowered the dark ones, vanquishing them with the most amazing way…. He felt a smile appear on his face and he let it spread on his face and reach gracefully his eyes, feeling once again the familiar, sweet warmth fill him completely.

"I think it's time to go inside." he heard Hermione saying to him a minute later. He smiled lovingly and nodded softly.

"I'll call the children, you go and make up the coffee table, ok?" he said softly and they stood up slowly. The man snaked slowly his arms around her and kissed her again slowly, loving the feeling of her lips on his own ones. She pulled away slowly just like minutes ago and that made the man snigger in a very cute way.

"Will we have more of this later? When children are on bed after lunch… probably?" he whispered rather flirtatiously and he received a small, stunning smile from his love.

"Maybe… if you're not a naughty boy…" she said in her low, sly voice that made him to swallow hard, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat. She gave him another flirtatious smile and a wink and went towards their house, taking the blanket they had been sitting on before, with her. Ron stayed still for a moment, staring at his wife's petite frame from behind, and then he turned around, towards the place their children were playing. He looked at the sight for a rather long moment, thinking that he liked it so unbearably, but still so bearably, much, before he finally spoke.

"Rose! Hugo! It's time for board games, come on!" he said loudly, catching the children's attention immediately. Both of them squealed with happiness and dropped down whatever they were holding, running excitedly towards their 'huge' dad. When they were finally in front of him, he bent down and smiled to both of the red-haired children.

"Which game are we going to play today, which one?" Rose asked happily, as she was jumping up and down energetically. Ron laughed softly and looked at his daughter's shining eyes, the ones that were almost identical to his.

"Slow down, Rosie!" he said happily like he was a little boy himself. "I don't know, so why won't we go inside, wash our hands carefully and then pick one? What do you think of it?" he said calmly, with his big smile never leaving his face, and he instantly saw the two of them nodding vividly. "Ok then, let's go inside, because mum's waiting for us." The three of them started to head quickly towards the house, the children almost running and the man near them looking at them with eyes full of love and pride for his little ones.

"I want to play Monopoly!" Hugo said loudly, with a tone that slightly showed finality over his statement, and Rose immediately glared at him.

"No, we won't play Monopoly again, we-" she started annoyingly, but Ron wasn't able to hear the end of it, as the children entered the house before him (even though he was quite sure how this short dialogue between them would be…). He shook his head gently and let a short, soft laugh escape from his mouth, as he was opening the back door of the house, thinking of the chaos that would be existent in a few minutes time; he still loved it, nontheless. Everything was alright.

"Oi, Rose, watch out!" he heard Hugo cry out from somewhere upstairs and he sniggered softly.

'_Yeah, everything's alright…' _Ron thought merrily and he softly closed the door behind him.

* * *

_- Oh... So, what you think of this? I really hope you all like it- I know it was short and maybe even kind of meamingless, but I had thought of that cute, little scene between them and I thought to write it as an epilogue of sorts... :)_

_- And of course, this is the best moment for you to give me your precious REVIEWS!!! They'll be so much appreciated...!_

_- And I have to tell you that I'm going on vacation, so the final two chapters, containing the 2nd possible ending of the story, won't be posted really soon... Sorry, guys..._

_- But I'll still try to update as soon as possible (even though it'll be a bit longer this time...). Until then... :) xxx_


	14. PE 2: The Pain Never Seems To Stop

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! I know I'm a terrible person, as I haven't uploaded for over a month(!), but my internet service has a few problems and I can't login etc; I uploaded this one from another computer, but I really hope that the final chapter would be uploaded in a couple of days, I dunno... Thanks for the unmeasurable patience, if you're still here!

And yay! A chapter's up! This one was really hard to write, but I _really _hope it worths the toil!

And I'll stop writing incessantly now and I'll let you read... Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Possible Ending 2.1: The Pain Never Seems To Stop~_

He didn't even know how, but he managed to find the right direction, while he was totally elsewhere with his numb, pained by all these awful thoughts, mind, although he didn't care a bit about it; all he was able to think straight about was him finding the room _they _were in. He opened all the doors there were within his hands' reach, searching for his loves and giving not a single thought about being rude or tactless; his shame had vanished for somewhere unknown, at least for a while. His searches kept going and going, but he, somehow, had managed to not grasp the desirable effects yet. Where had they hid them? _Why they were away from him?_

Without actually realizing, he started yelling and crying out while he felt his fat, bitter tears escaping forcefully from his sockets and washing painfully his pale face and his scarred soul. He started to feel his head quite dizzy and his sight became a blur, but he didn't just give up but instead, he kept going, with his weak knees protesting wildly; he didn't care about them either.

At the end of the slightly occupied corridor, he saw a half-opened door on the right side and a healer trainee was standing under the doorframe, her expression was sad and depressing. He took one step closer, even though he was still a few meters away. He didn't give much more thought about it and he let his eyes wander to other directions, while he felt, rather than heard, a quite loud sob escaping from the depths of his chest. And then, only half a second later, he heard it- it was his name.

"Mr. Weasley! Mr. Weasley!" He immediately started to search for the source of the voice desperately and then he noticed with some surprise that it was that trainee that had spoken to him- he ran towards her with his shaky form and when he reached her, he grasped her shoulders and shook her vividly, his eyes glassy, yet somewhat furious and worried- he seemed like an insane man.

"Where is she? Where are they? Tell me _where are they_!" he screamed warningly and shook her some more, his movements underlying perfectly his words. The young woman seemed a bit scared of him.

"Inside." she only said and Ron instantly shoved her a bit hard and went into the room, his eyes praying to see his wife and their baby terribly much. At first, he was only able to see white: white sheets, white beds, white benches, white, marble floor and white walls. But then he saw another colour that clashed terribly and painfully with all this whiteness…

_Crimson. Scarlet… Blood-red…._

He rushed into the room without thinking, his mind and eyes only focusing on the red. He heard something unintelligible stemming from somewhere near him, but he didn't pay much attention to it- the red was taking all his attention now…

But where this red was coming from? His full with perplexing thoughts mind wasn't able to answer to even this mere question and then he let his eyes focus on other things around him, and what he merely made out, made his eyes almost get out from his skull, his breath catch and his pounding-extremely-fast heart stop functioning straightaway. Because that scarlet colour was covering something long and thin and bended; it was covering Hermione from the waist down… _his Mione_…

He instantly looked up and he saw his love with open, weary eyes, looking back at him, while her tired face as covered with numerous trickles of sweat and mostly, tears. He gasped painfully and his lungs were aching now, but only one question, one thought occurred on his mind:

_What had happened?_

His eyes, for some unknown reason, were drowned in a sea of soon-to-be-shed tears, but he couldn't clearly understand the reason: was it just because of the heartbreaking image of Hermione looking so fragile and vulnerable and tired, or his instincts knew things that he didn't- things that he should never learn?

"I'm so, so sorry, Ron…" he heard from somewhere behind him and he let his pupils travel from the blood-red and his wife's face, to behind his shoulder, his puffy eyes searching with some difficulty the source of the sound that seemed already so threatening… He found, a couple of seconds later, Healer Scott looking at him sadly, as she was shaking her head slowly. Pure worry and agony filled his blood and felt it rush into his system extremely fast, like there would be no more time for him to enjoy- not with the actual meaning, of course- the benefit of being alive.

And yes, his system was absolutely right, as he noticed a little object that was in the other Healer's arms- a little, curled object that was covered in scarlet, shiny, really fresh liquid; he felt his heart tearing apart, as he was staring at the life-ending sight, which was followed immediately by dreadful, really, agonizingly slow words:

"The baby didn't make it, Ron; I'm so sorry…"

The venomous sea that was making his vision a blur was slowly gone, as the acid liquid stabbed mercifully his face and his, so many times ripped soul. He took a step closer and peered at the little, bloody body in the woman's arms. He started to shake uncontrollably and even though his mind and heart and soul couldn't bear to see this dreadful sight before him, his wide, red eyes didn't let the brain force them to leave the image. He stared at their baby's body for some more and he shook his head vividly. There was absolutely no way for this to be true; someone had found it funny to play some mean jokes on him.

"It's not dead." Ron whispered warningly with his cracked, fragile voice, while he was shaking his head more frantically from side to side. "It cannot be…"

Healer Scott looked at him seriously, yet still really sad. "Ron, I'm certain; Hermione gave birth to your daughter but the baby couldn't make it; she was dead before she was fully out."

Ron's nostrils widened unconsciously as he was trying to take deep breaths, while he was still shaking his head from side to side and letting his unstoppable tears free. _Daughter_… They had a _daughter_…

She _had to_ be alive…

"She's not dead." he repeated immediately and his eyes were shining very much, becoming a perfect mirror of the horrible sight. "Give her to me." That got the other healer instantly worried and kind of scared and she took a step back.

"What are you talking about, Ron?" she said, rising her voice a bit. But that didn't make Ron back away in his half-insane state; he forcefully took the corpse from the woman's arms. He instantly felt the icy coldness of the body and the still apparent warmth of the shiny blood that covered it- the man was able to see the rather purplish colour from under all this crimson. His tears fell uncontrollably like a really hard storm and mixed awfully with the liquid. He started to shake more violently as he felt and peered at the tiny body in his longs, trembling arms, not daring to believe the too-many-times-said truth that was stabbing his heart cruelly, not daring to accept the clear evidence his restive eyes provided him.

_There should be some more hope…_

He instantly took his wand from his robes, and with his violently shaky hand, he pointed it to the baby's body.

"_Breathe_!" he cried out between his uncontrollable sobs and cries and saw a light blue light heading towards the body in his arm; nothing happened.

"Ron, this is pointless; the baby died!" the woman healer exclaimed, but Ron was sure that she was stupid; she couldn't see that the baby would be alive- _she would be alive…_

"No!" he cried out defensively as he pointed again his wand towards the corpse. "_Breathe_!" he said the spell again. Once again, there was no success; Ron was getting more and more desperate as his breaths were only something between a sob and a gasp now. He must not give up, not now…

"_BREATHE!_" he screamed with all the solid air that was existent in his burning lungs and then he couldn't do this anymore; he burst into violent fits of tears and loud sobs, as his weak, trembling knees finally gave in and let the weight of his hit the floor and resting on the bones of his calves . He felt his arms suddenly empty and his baby girl was gone, only letting blood-red stains on his sleeves and hands as inerasable evidence that it was there sometime. He cried desperately and agonizingly, letting all his unbearable pain go away, and yet still remain there, by screaming at the top of his lungs, from the depths of his boiling hot, yet freezing cold, chest. He couldn't understand anything now, nothing made sense at the moment, except that the baby was gone, their little baby girl had gone far, far away; the pain of the unsufferable loss increased as the centuries-like minutes were passing, leaving no remnants of anything good, of anything comforting, of anything at least a bit relieving, inside, only pain and poison to cover the still open, unhealed wounds from the past. He suddenly couldn't understand the way the universe worked.

"NO!!!" he screamed once again, not caring about the raw throat or the interference of the patients' tranquility- all should mourn for his baby girl's death now. His eyes stung at that time as his unwilling-to-function-more heart was aching unbearably, asking for some sort of release, of atonement. _Why didn't he die instead of their toddler?_ _Why he was still alive, facing and encountering with more noxious pain? _

His stung, all red and puffy eyes turned with so much toil towards the head of the only existent bed in the room, suddenly wanting to see at his wife, to make sure that she, at least, was somewhat fine, to feel some sort of ridiculous assurance that things were still merely ok. His pupils found her ghostly white face, which was horribly stained with thousands of little rivers of salty water, that had travelled all the way down her cheeks, jaw line and neck, her eyes an awful bloodshot, her sweaty curls sticking on her forehead and temples, her whitish lips trembling uncontrollably; the pain had scarred her features in the most hideous way. If fates didn't care a bit about him, why did they still torture his beloved Mione like this?

With his worn out knees, he shakily headed himself towards the head of the bed, wanting to make sure her weak form wasn't an illusion of his weary eyes. When he was next to her, he slowly half-stretched his trembling arms towards her pale face, and he cupped it with his large hands. He instantly felt the icy wintriness of her skin, the acidic wetness there was there and he was even surer that this was utterly real and there was no way for them to escape from the malicious pain it caused; their so young infant was dead even before it was born- life just didn't want him to 'enjoy' his few alive moments.

He stared into Hermione's eyes with great effort, seeing deep into the now dull, chocolate irises, looking intensely, yet very weakly, at the currently lifeless, dark depths of her orbs; he didn't dare to look into her once so expressive eyes, now being so… dead- it was another covered-in-venom, sharply jagged knife that stabbed his poor heart like it was nothing.

"W-We c-can… we can m-make it-t, Her-Hermione…" he whispered almost silently with his weak, cracked voice that was full of loud sobs and a few gasps of solid, stuffy air. "We… We w-will tr-try a-again… we mu-mustn't g-give in n-now… n-not now…" he continued with great force, actually not really believing the words he had said, but just telling them for her sake, just for her little reassurance- pain wouldn't ever let such light emotions enter into his injured heart. He saw then Hermione looking with her slightly unfocused eyes into his own ones, as more and more burning droplets were escaping from the swollen sockets. She half-opened her trembling lips and let a heartbreaking sob escape without any force.

"We w-won't…" she whispered faintly and that caused Ron to feel like he was kneeling on nowhere, like he was somewhere lost in an unfamiliar, horribly empty universe, where only he and his outrageously vast pain were existent, a horrible abyss that left no room for rest and relief and comfort. He shook his head vividly, even though he was feared that she might be right.

"We w-will; we h-have t-to tr-try, H-Hermione…" he sobbed weakly and some of his hot tears hit her sickly white cheeks and blended with hers. The woman before his begging eyes looked at him for half a second and then closed her eyelids firmly, not letting him interpreting into her soul.

"L-Leave me a-alone." she just said with her fragile voice and turned her head to one side, escaping from his shaky touch. He looked at her face with a painful expression, not actually believing that words like these were set free from her mouth, stabbing him even more. He felt more alone than ever, but he accepted it, thinking that she was facing her own hell at the moment, grieving the immeasurable loss too much to consider about other things; he had to leave her some space, not letting her feel more pressure from him- he had to understand that he wasn't the only one who was suffering from the sudden loss.

Without realizing it, Healer Scott gently helped him to stand up and took him into another, empty room with a single bed and nothing else. She slowly guided him towards the bed like he was a little boy, saying to him soothingly reassuring things he wasn't able to hear at the moment- a weird, unwanted buzz didn't let any other signals to be heard by his ears. A couple of seconds later, he felt a strange softness under his thighs and he too late understood that he was sitting on the edge of the bed at that moment. With his worn out, stung, damp eyes, he saw the woman healer a few centimeters above his head.

"W-Why?" he was able only to ask with his cracked voice, his tone a little childish and innocent and fearful as his rather broad, yet still skinny from his own-made tortures, body was still shaking frenziedly, not at all stopping all this time. Healer Scott looked at him desolately before she stretched her right arm slightly towards his face, a bottle with an azure potion in her palm.

"Ssh, Ron, take a deep breath…" she said soothingly, but he couldn't follow her advice- it seemed way too difficult at the moment. He just began to shake even more. "Ok, Ron, just take a deep breath and open your mouth, so I can help you drink this potion, dear…" she continued after a few seconds. Ron glanced at the bottle in her hand for a second, adjusting without actually doing so, the colour of the liquid. He tried to take an unsteady breath between his sobs and finally managing to do so after some fruitless attempts; then, he tried to obligate the muscles of his numb jaw to slightly move and let his lips be parted even a centimeter, just for this, now foreign fluid to enter into his weak system without any objection; he didn't even mind if it was the most excruciating, acidic venom existent- it wouldn't be any difference to him or to his malfunctioning body or to his nearly dead spirit. A couple of weeks-like seconds, he felt a breezy fluid to travel down his sore throat and then cooled the walls of his empty and clenched stomach uncomfortably; he slightly started to feel nauseous, along with all the other things he was feeling at the last, awfully long moments- or were they hours? Centuries, maybe? He wasn't sure anymore. However, his ridiculous questions and unpleasant thoughts were, ever so slowly, starting to get out of his mind's reach, they seemed quite unintelligible now, like they were a thick fog encircling his worn out brain; his red, puffy, always drenched eyes weren't quite able to make out anything nearby, while his exhausted muscles and suddenly feeble bones slightly felt some strange kind of relief, as he slightly noticed that he was in an horizontal position currently. His eyelids seemed really heavy now, like they weighted tons, but he wasn't the one that had the strength to fight at the time being, he was the one to be vanquished; so he simply let them get sealed gradually and stop the visual signs to be sent to his brain cells, at the same time- besides, his brain appeared to also shut down momentarily.

And he couldn't remember anything else from that, at least torturous day…

…

**1 week later**

A week had quite fast passed for the red-haired healer, even though he wasn't quite sure yet as to how he was even able to think of that. Of course, the exceedingly strong and sharp feeling of bereavement hadn't diminished even a mere bit inside him, but he had miserably and poorly managed to put it a little aside, as he was wearing himself almost completely out, working unstoppably- even though many people had gently told him that he was able to take some time off- and mostly, going and visiting Hermione at her room, as she was still at the hospital, being examined carefully by loads of healers to ensure her physical condition. Ron would spend hours and hours at her side, holding reassuringly her hand and whispering soothing words to her while he was trying to not let his lachrymal glands produce fat, salty droplets in front of her- this was now a pastime while he was totally alone. But as he was trying desperately to somewhat ease her pain and clumsily mend her invisible wounds, she wouldn't say an utter word to him, not a mere, mumbled or almost inaudible 'hi' or 'bye', nothing at all; moreover, she wouldn't glance to his form even once, just staring rather faithfully on the other side of the room, like he wasn't even there- like his protective, slightly shaky palm on top of hers was a rough, uncomfortable bond that kept her imprisoned, like his weak voice and fragile words were only some monotonous breezes that were coming towards her way inevitably. He suddenly couldn't understand how much more space she needed for her mourning; he was supposed to erase as much as possibly feasible of her, identical to his, ache, but she didn't let him.

It was a Tuesday morning of early October, and Ron had been at hospital for 3 days without leaving for their house or elsewhere. As he was drinking some of his black coffee, he was thinking miserably about what was going to happen that day: Hermione was going to be discharged and go back home, but he wasn't sure how to deal with this; she didn't drop one single hint to him as to what to do right now, as they were left almost alone now to cope with their dreadful problem, with their massive soreness.

He glanced at his watch and knowing that in ten minutes Hermione would be able to leave her room at the hospital, he stood up mechanically and after taking a burningly dry lungful of air inside his system, he exited his office and headed towards his wife's room, trying to think of what to do and what to say once he would be there. His legs were moving agonizing slowly, while his brain cells where working top-speed through their numbness- his organism seemed to be more or less out of order.

After a couple of minutes, he finally reached her room, and for some seconds, he just stood in front of the wooden, white door, gazing at it absentmindedly. When he lastly realized where he was, he took a deep mouthful of oxygen and knocked the wooden surface gently, waiting patiently for the answer.

"Come in." he heard the weak, quite muffled voice that he was positive that was his wife's and he felt an odd feeling inside him- he tried to identify it for a brief moment, but he gave in during the process and he just opened the door before him gradually. When it was fully opened, he stepped inside, his orbs gluing on her thin, standing form. He closed automatically the door behind him and took one more step closer to her. She turned her head slightly and glanced at him from above her right shoulder, before turning her head once again and cast her pupils on a bag that was resting on the bed before her; Ron exhaled slowly and looked at her back.

"Hi." he whispered rather cautiously, not knowing what sort of response to expect from her. She didn't turn her head towards him as she said an almost soundless 'hi'. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before he closed their distance by another step.

"How are you feeling?" he attempted with his low voice, not discerning how to approach her. He saw her turning her whole body and facing him with an unreadable expression on her face; he swallowed hard unconsciously.

"Dreadful, to say at the least- is that answering your question?" she snapped and his dull eyes widened a little bit, but never leaving her from their sight.

"I can assure you that I feel exactly the same, Hermione…" he whispered weakly, his words holding nearly no emotion- hurt drained all of them almost completely from his voice. Hermione looked at him intensely.

"And I can assure you that I feel much worse than _you_ feel, Ronald." she said coldly and that made Ron shiver; why was she behaving to him like this?

"Why?" he had only managed to tell her before his voice cracked terribly; he was all of a sudden able to sense something downright unwelcome approaching- his insides were already clenching and his inner voice was already begging for something still unknown. He heard his spouse laughing icily and millions of sharp knives stabbed his chest- and he, for some, unexplainable reason, was rather knowing that they were still in the beginning.

"Do you really want me to say _out aloud_ the reasons to you?" Hermione cried out rather angrily with her still quite fragile voice, as she was looking at him pitifully; Ron was at a loss.

"Yes" he only choked out, his voice betraying him embarrassingly. He saw Hermione eyeing him with an unreadable expression on her physiognomy.

"Well then, where should I start from?" she said with her voice full of icy sarcasm; Ron just stayed rooted on the spot, staring at her face miserably. His wife continued almost immediately, not actually waiting for an answer from him: "First and foremost, you _cheated on me_; I believe that this is more than enough reason to be like this." she said acidly and Ron felt immediately a lump sitting comfortably on his throat- he wasn't sure how he would be if he heard the other reasons of hers, too. "You managed to keep it a secret for _months_, and you kept me in the dark, letting me believe that I made us like that, but it was in fact _your _fault! And then, you found it essential to try to kill yourself, wanting _so badly _to escape from all this shit, without telling me what's wrong!" Hermione half-yelled at him, who was just standing there, looking dejectedly at her, his huge eyes starting to sink into salty water.

"Hermione—" Ron choked out weakly, along with a soft sob; Hermione cut him off straightaway.

"_What?_" she cried out pointedly. "Haven't you done every single thing I've just said? And now, I see my baby dying… Do you really think that I can bear much more than _all these_?" she roughly screamed and then took a deep breath, probably trying to composure herself. Ron's eyes widened unconsciously from some fear and agony, as shiny droplets were slowly escaping from the outer corners of his eyelids at that moment.

"Mione… I-I am _deeply _sorry for all the things I did to you- you k-know that…" he whispered sincerely and looked deeply into her orbs, wanting her to realize that he felt the remorse, that he so much wanted to make up for all his mistakes…

"I don't care anymore about it, Ronald!" she yelled angrily at him, and he took a step backwards. "You ruined my life and I don't accept an apology for this, alright?"

"But we said that—" he started once again desperately, not quite understanding why there was this sudden twist in their slow progress in their relationship; he was grieving as well for the baby's loss, he couldn't stand the fact, too, but why all their efforts were now thrown away so easily? Aren't they supposed to fight _together _against this?

Hermione cut him off once again. "It means nothing right now, what we said were mere words; my wrecked life is _reality, a fact_, Ronald!" she let the sharp, venomous words get away from her mouth and reach his soul with raw triumph, killing him agonizingly and slowly. "And it's _your entire fault_! I don't want to see you ever again!"

The last words reached him in a different way. "No, Hermione, n-no… Please, don't do this…" he choked out hoarsely, his throat throbbing. Hermione looked at him coldly and pitifully.

"And why not? Haven't you done already enough to me- you want to make me suffer more?" she said with a low, icy voice that made the red-haired shiver.

"I don't want to cause you any more pain, Hermione" he said desperately, his eyes, his voice, his thin frame begging her to rethink her choice, to consider some more her cruel decision. "Please, just give me a-another chance, to show you that I want to p-protect you… we can try again, Hermione…"

She looked at him even more coolly. "I don't think so, Ronald; you made me like this, and I won't give a second thought about it; I don't want to see you again, much more to have you in my life." Ron felt his remnants of soul being in the pangs of death as his pupils were trying to seek even a minute trace of emotion that wasn't toxic on her face- they couldn't find any and that got him even more anxious.

"Please, Hermione- I love you and I want to be with you; I can't live without you… just please, let me protect you…" he begged as more tears were burning his skin during their journey along his face; on the inside, he prayed for forgiveness and mercy- he couldn't lose his entire world so abruptly, so easily…

Hermione shook her head. "But I doubt you can protect me from yourself…" she said lowly and Ron started to shake a bit, his tears being produced in a brisker rhythm now.

"I-I'll try to be a b-better husband… I'll do everything to make y-you happy again…" he choked out huskily, not daring to give up his world just yet.

"Then let me live alone to start my life once again, leave me and let me mend my wounds by myself." She said with a calm, yet impassive tone. The red-haired's breathing suddenly became exceedingly frantic; the air in the room was heavy and wouldn't reach his lungs like it should be.

"I can mend your w-wounds, Hermione; I'm a-a healer." Ron said throatily, even though he knew that her words were a metaphor, in fact.

"You proved to be a poorly efficient healer, as regards a soul's wounds, Ronald…" Hermione said expressionlessly and then took her bag from the bed behind her. "There's no reason to come home; I'll send everything that's yours to the Burrow- it'll be better that way…" She started walking slowly towards the door behind him, his eyes looking at the window on the other side of the room - the sight of hers now seemed blindness-causing. His ears heard each of her almost soundless steps clearly and his eardrums were throbbing terribly, not liking the sound of this unwanted departure of hers, not desiring to hear the echoes of the steadily approaching end; his mind screamed hopelessly and his little heart was kicking his weak ribs with pure anguish and agony- his whole system was reacting to this life-ending, accomplished fact.

"I love you…" he whispered as the door behind him was getting closed, as the one person that deserved those little words, the one that was leaving behind a giant part of her life standing shakily in the middle of the room, crying like a lost child, was taking all the air out of the room with her, leaving a lost man all alone, into a suddenly dark space, into a miserable, agonizing, unworthy nothing.

She never heard him saying these last words… And he would never see her again… He knew that he had lost an enormous part of his broken soul one week ago, a part that would never come back, but it was almost nothing to this; he lost his sight, his hearing impaired to an unpromising buzz, his muscles were burning far worse than if he was on stake, his heart had lost any desire to function anymore, while his lungs were furiously pulling out every little drop of air or moisture from their insides, and not letting any more of the inexistent air to enter; his nostrils were unexpectedly veiled with something invisible and intangible. His brain steadily was losing more efficiently its capability to understand anything and he felt his head heavy and dizzy; he gasped for some air, even though he didn't want to- it was just some instinctual reaction his body did unconsciously-, but the air never even managed to reach his swollen throat. His wet, blood-shot, puffy eyes almost popped out from the skull, as the system's alarmed, survival instincts were still trying to guide a mere hint of oxygen into the violently trembling body. The owner tried to take a tiny step, so his palm could grasp the bed that was some meters away, but the unsteadiness caused to the body to trip over itself and fall onto the cool, marble surface of the floor. Ron didn't make another move and he just stayed there, shaking and gasping and allowing more tears to blaze his thin, sickly white skin like an acid. He felt only a little the aching muscles of his upper abdomen stop moving and the refusing-to-work lungs stayed still. As a result, his heart lost the slight strength to pump in his ribcage- along with the so-long-lost will- and gradually diminished its pace; the dirty, sinful blood of his slowly stopped circulating in his body, and his brain started to lose its invaluable, unwanted now, consciousness.

And he fainted without realizing, but the peace never came to his spirit, despite the unconsciousness of the body and of the mind. Abyss was approaching, but he wasn't able to comprehend it.

…

He must have been an empty carcass, right? Logically, there can't have been any more parts of his ripped soul into his lean body, why shouldn't they? The one had died along with his daughter and the other, the bigger one, had been stabbed, bled, poisoned and then burnt the moment Hermione had closed the door behind her, leaving him alone. Really, why should there be any more hint of life in this weak corpse?

However, if he still could feel such indescribable pain and suffering, if his mind was becoming darker and darker after the flowing seconds, if the poisonous pincers that supposed to be memories were still existent and were fading his brain's impaired function with acid, that meant that there was still something barely alive in that dead body, letting him to suffer a bit more and grieve about the emptiness of the nothing, where he lived; because his entire world, his meager life, his worthy breath, his lively heartbeat, his plain existence was, in fact, _her_.

They must have passed a couple of life-longing-and-even-more days, in which Ron was doing nothing; they must have found him in Hermione's former room unconscious, and they had transferred him to another room. Since then, he was there, not caring if others were talking to him or examining his flawed bodily functions; he was just gazing with his vague eyes at the ceiling and doing nothing else, gazing and thinking, gazing and mourning, gazing and grieving… He didn't shed another tear, he didn't shake any more, he didn't whisper for mercy or begging; this ridiculous kind of inexistent life of his was only about gazing and deliberating about things that were long lost and gone… This sort of existence had no meaning to be apparent and he knew it.

It was probably late afternoon, as for the first time he saw out from the window; he could barely observe with his weak orbs the dark orange and purple tints on the navy blue veil that was covering proudly the capital city. He looked a couple of seconds more at the sight and then he shifted forcefully on the small bed, trying with all the, actually non-existent power his muscles were able to hold, to move his body. After some minutes, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his pale toes barely touching the cool surface under them. He slowly took a deep breath and then he let his skinny feet hit the floor. He adjust the new feeling with his anesthetized brain, while he was staring with some tension at the paleness of his feet's skin, at the bones that were nearly one with the thin covering and at the noticeable dark blue veins that encircled them uninterestingly. He took one more breath and then, ever so slowly, he forced his legs to carry his slight weight; he instantly grabbed the edge of the bed behind him and tried to stand upright, even though his weak, unprepared body was protesting. He stayed like this for a minute or two, and when he was sure enough, he let his arm to fall to his side and he cautiously took a step. With false satisfaction, he took a few more steps extremely slowly and carefully, like he was a man that was learning how to walk once again after many years of sitting on a wheelchair. After some more minutes, he managed to reach the door that was leading to the corridor of the ward. He slowly encircled the bronze doorknob with his ghostly white palm, and regularly turned it, until the door was slightly open. He peeked at the corridor cautiously, wanting to make sure that no one was there and therefore, seeing him, and after some really close observations, he opened the door a little bit more, so he could step out from the room. He closed the door behind him mutely and after looking one more time at the silent, empty hallway, he started to head slowly towards the staircase. Every time the corridors crossed with other ones, he would observe the place warily before continuing with his small trip. Once he got to the staircase, he laboriously climbed it, but never stopping despite his legs' complaints, until he reach the top end of it, where there was only a dreadfully shadowy, short corridor, with only one door at its end. He slowly but surely, went there and immediately opened the single door without much hesitation or doubt; he was exceptionally sure now, especially after arriving there without getting caught.

He took a couple of steps, so he could be at the other side of the door, and then it right away hit him: a cool breeze that was coming from the west, from where there were still some traces of vivid orange combined with dark purple and dark midnight blue. He felt it caressing his face not actually with grace, but rather with force or melancholy- it was weird. He unhurriedly closed soundlessly the door behind him and took a few steps with his bare feet at the huge terrace of the hospital, looking at the dark sky, at the almost invisible buildings that were around, at the quite silent night before him. He absentmindedly took more steps closer to the night, closer to the city, closer to the edge of this plain terrace. After some minutes, he finally reached the very edge, and he shifted his orbs only a bit, only to see the ground below him. He felt calm, but not with the peaceful sense of it- peace was something that steadily avoided him for some time now. He peered at the ground rather observantly and he calmly considered his decision, believing that it would be some sort of appalling, 'goodbye' present to his worn out brain- it should have its moment of glory, because it very much deserved it.

He was on the terrace of the hospital, with a ground floor and other six floors under his foot. He was at the edge of the building, like he was on a cliff, at a really dangerous spot, but he didn't actually mind- it surely wouldn't be one of his worst moments in his 29-year-old life. It was late evening and there weren't many people at the hospital- no one would come there for work at this hour. His actions wouldn't be interrupted, and it would be way too late if he did the only, so simple thing the whole process required by him. No one would be able to change his situation then, because it's impossible to overturn the inevitable, especially when it came from at least 30 meters high… How would he ever be able to survive from this? He couldn't find a possibility. But even if his pain was as stubborn as to find a way for him to make it alive after the contact, for a few hours maximum, there was still no chance for him to be found at this late of hour, in a deserted passage like the one below him. There was no way out; there were no ways to escape this time from what should be probably considered as his fate…

He thought one last time about his lost baby girl; he thought that if he was lucky enough, she would be alive and with her respectful mother, giving to each other the love and the care there should be for them- things he wasn't capable to offer to his beloved ones as he should, as he must have. Then again, he thought that if he was lucky enough, he would savour some so needed rest and he would meet or even take a single glimpse, of the small, flawless angel his daughter must have been- could he ever deserve something like that?

And then, he thought of another angel he knew, the one that was living on the surface of planet Earth. He exhaled and inhaled deeply as the image of her pure, unblemished beauty filled his head like a sweet lullaby being sung from a soothing, melodic voice, like a powerful, intoxicating drug that had been taken after very long, agonizing months by an insane drug-addict; the stunning image of hers was utterly intoxicating, yet calming for him. It was everything, and he had lost it.

The last thought confirmed him that his decision wasn't downright wrong; the loose ends of his existence were a total, unworthy nothing without her anymore, and he should put an end to all this misery and disgrace- maybe there was some sort of release, after all. He took one more gulp of air inside him and let the cool gust to touch his wintry face for the last moments. He prayed and asked for forgiveness from God for all of his sins, and then he looked down again, at the now unseen bottom, at the end of so many things, and a slight serene feeling engulfed him once again; the approaching ending didn't make him afraid anymore- he was quite waiting for it as if it was an effective painkiller for his inerasable hurt and suffering. He was ready.

"I will love you until I no longer exist, however how much that'd be… I will love you and even after that… Till eternity." he whispered with his deep voice and let the image of the woman he so deeply loved surround him like a warm blanket, like a so needed embrace.

And with the image of hers in his mind, he closed his eyes and took the one, little step that was required for him, so he could be in midair only a second later; the one step that straightaway sent him to the steady soil, to the waiting, open arms of death…

And he started to fall, and all he could think of was the possibly upcoming rest and Hermione…

* * *

_-Well, what do you think? Is that a cliff?- I don't know, to be quite honest... But of course, this is NOT the end of the story- one more chapter, my dears! :D_

_- Oh, and because I temporary don't have internet service at home, this doesn't mean that I don't want your so precious FEEDBACK!!! It would be the best way to show what you think about this story..._

_- And of course, I'll try to update as soon as possible. Until then... :) xxx_


	15. PE 2: What?

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! I feel so excited as this is the last time I upload for this story... I'm so... _wow_... my hands are trembling a bit and I can't stop smiling, yet I somewhat grieving...(freak...) I would like to thank you for your reviews for the last chapter- because, to tell you the truth, I was rather afraid of it being a not-so-good one... well, you showed me that it was a quite wrong assumption, I guess...

And at this moment, I would like to make some acknowledgements: Firstly, an enormous _'thank you'_ to _wow60, Alquimista, Sabosh, RoN, CuteANDSexxxy17, bookworm8721 _and _funsizedpixie22,_ for their constant reviewing and for their unmeasurable help the gave me with the way they showed their liking to this story; also, a big _'thanks'_, to _poohlicous, squibalicous, yehso, LoveB, ginnylovesharry07 _and _Evanescence 14 _for their so worthy feedback that made me more eager to keep going on with this fic; and last, but not at all least, a vast, out from the soul, _'thank you'_ to each and every one of you who read this story and made me a happier, more motivated person... Thanx a lot, pals... :D

And yes; the _huge_, final chapter is up... I'll stop and I'll let you read, now. Enjoy! :)

_Healer's Wounds_

_~Possible Ending 2.2: What? ~_

He opened his eyes swiftly, wanting to make sure that his wrecked spirit had escaped from the bonds of the body, that he was at some place he didn't know, somewhere probably restful and peaceful, somewhere that he would find the quite easiness and tranquility his soul so much needed. But, of course, there wasn't actually any need for rush, as there was also no way for his plan to have been unsuccessful; he must have been somewhere that an alive creature couldn't possibly reach, that was for sure.

His quite blurry sight was then became a clear vision and he saw white; clouds or something along these lines, of course- what else? He felt very light at the moment and he exhaled with relief and delight as his energetic pupils were moving fast, scanning everything they could see from the new place.

_Beep. Beep. Beep…_

Ron after some seconds realized the existence of a soft, rather slow sound, stemming from somewhere at his left side. He slowly turned his head towards there and he saw a rather large, plastic and metal cube, which was on a short table next to his bed- wait a minute—

'_His bed'?! What the heck was going on there? Why was he lying on a bed, for Circe's sake?_

The numerous questions that popped in his head in only a few milliseconds weren't answered, as his eyes saw other, similar devices near him, as well. On another, much smaller table, there were many different bottles, all filled with various liquids. He simply couldn't understand what's happening, and the light, rather joyful feeling was slowly gone. Where was he?

He looked around anxiously, trying to observe the strange surroundings, an environment very weird and quite unidentified, but at the same time, really familiar… He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and then he took a glimpse of a couple of beings, most probably _human _beings, that were dressed in long, yellow and green robes. Yellow and green… It seemed oddly recognizable… where—

The question of his inner voice was left unfinished, as his enlarged pupils glued on the two people that were standing at the far corner of the room, also eyeing him with interest; he was sure that he knew that sort of clothes, he was also wearing them, once upon a time…

_Healers… Was he at a… hospital?_

His eyes widened even more, being almost out from their slightly pale sockets, as he was staring at the two healers, who were still looking at him with concentration. Ron tried to get up instantly, but he found himself unable to even shift on his quite large bed; straightaway, new-born irritation combined with his curiosity, as his sight suddenly was filled with more healers, all of them having their curious eyes on him, like he was a precious sight at a museum. _What had happened?_

The simple question that formed into his mind was unable to be answered by any logical part of his mind- even the 'illogical' part had been facing difficulties. He tried to press the 'rewind' button of his memory file, but the last thing he could remember was his last step, the step that made him another indisputable proof of Newton's law, nothing after that…

And of course! It was his suicidal attempt- his second one, to be specific-! And he remembered to examine it from every single, possible angle, so he could avoid any probable flaws. But now, he was, once again, in a room at 'St. Mungo's'; how had they managed to find him this time? How, at this late of hour? And how had he managed to survive after such a height; wasn't it supposed to be lethal? Wasn't it supposed to end his life easily, without much time? How had he managed to live after _this? How, for crying out loud? _

He looked at the many healers that were standing before him, with an expression of annoyance, slight confusion and disbelief; at the background, he heard the '_beeping_' noise getting slightly quicker.

"Where am I?" he said without first thinking about it; he felt his voice slightly hoarse, but other than that, it was ok. He kept looking at the healers in front of his bed frustratingly, still not being able to grasp the idea of them ruining his brilliant plan, his only way to see some sort of mere relax; he hated them all. "How I came here? Who found me? Who are all of you?" he cried out and he felt his face all red; his breath was coming out all hot and furious, while he was listening to the furious, really brisk and crazy '_beep_' noise that was stemming from next to him. The healers still seemed calm and unafraid by his fuming words. "How the heck did you manage to save me this time, eh? How did you manage to _even find me_?!" he cried out once again and he saw the clear, cobalt rivers to pop out from the strong muscles of the his forearms.

"Ssh, Ron, there's no need for you to be angry…" he suddenly heard a little, yet calming voice that wasn't coming from the small crowd before his huge eyes; it was stemming from somewhere at his right side.

Ron turned his head to see towards the voice that so much wanted from him to be serene- something quite impossible at the moment. But at the sight of Alfred, mere anger was instantly transformed to pure shock. _How was it possible?_

"Alfred?" he asked foolishly as he was staring at his co-worker with widened eyes and half-open mouth; things were truly getting weirder and weirder with the passing of seconds. He saw Alfred smiling a little to him and coming closer slowly, examining his form and his face with interest equal to the other healers' one- he felt nervous under it now.

"Ok, pals, you can go for your break- I'll call you when I'll need you." Alfred said unexpectedly, and slowly, all the other witches and wizards started to exit from the room, still throwing him a few glances on their way out. When all of them were gone and the door was safely closed, the other healer closed all the distance between him and the occupied bed and looked at the redhead friendly.

"Do you mind if I check your condition while I'll be speaking to you? You see, you woke up earlier than we expected- always in hurry, Ron…" Alfred said lightly; Ron eyed him curiously, but he just nodded, waiting for his co-worker to explain this whole, unexplainable thing he was in.

Alfred smiled reassuringly and looked at his pulse and then he cast some spells at his torso, every time smiling with satisfaction. "I knew you won't disappoint me, Weasley- such a healthy man, even for your slight leanness…" he joked and laughed gently, before checking on the devices around him; Ron couldn't hold it anymore.

"Alfred, are you going to explain me what happened? How did come I'm here, all safe and sound… not, not even _a scratch_ on me! For Dumbledore's sake, I fell from the terrace of the hospital- that's eight floors high, man! How did I make it alive; how the heck did you find me in time to save me, as well? I can't understand any of all these, Alfred…" he concluded weakly and exhaled rather vanquished from life, not being able to realize anything- all seemed so unreal and didn't make sense…

He saw Alfred inhaling and exhaling deeply, and then he sat down on a chair near his bed; he seemed quite uneasy now, but he didn't actually pity him- he wanted to know the truth just now.

"Ron, look; this is a really long story and I want you to hear me carefully and to not cut me off until I'm finished, ok?" he asked seriously and Ron looked at him suspiciously before nodding once.

"But answer me a question first, ok?" Ron said straightaway, still wondering about a certain thing in his head; when the other healer nodded, he continued: "I'm not dreaming right now, right? I'm not sleeping."

"No, you're fully awake and _this _is reality." Alfred said and when he was sure he had the patient's full attention, he took a deep breath and he started: "About ten months ago, Head Healer Hooper asked to see me. That day, he talked to me about a project he was working on for many years, and he was able then to put it into practice; my job to the whole project was to find the most appropriate candidate and make the whole idea a reality.

Healer Hooper had thought about an experiment being done on wizards- how they psychologically react under great emotional pressure, what they do when very harsh things occurred to their lives; it is a grand concept." He said and gazed for a tiny moment at nowhere, until he was back to reality. "I had a difficulty to find an appropriate candidate; the experiment was rather complicated and just any wizard or witch wouldn't do- we needed someone with excellent physical condition and strength of mind, otherwise there were also possibilities of lethal consequences… I had to find someone that, even unconsciously, would be able to cope with the research's expectations... And I thought of you, Ron."

Ron's eyes were nearly out of their sockets, as the man was looking stunned at the healer; he wasn't entirely sure if he had heard right- he couldn't have heard right…

"What?" he choked out, his voice lost somewhere in his throat because of the pure, new-born astonishment. Alfred exhaled loudly before answering.

"I thought you could be a very good person as a contributor for the experiment—"

"You mean as a _guinea-pig_!" Ron cut him off, starting to lose his temper; Alfred looked at him apologetically.

"Please, Ron, just let me finish…" he said fairly weakly and when he didn't heard another enraged comment from his co-worker, he went on: "Look, I know that it was kind of harsh, but the test had to be done and you were the perfect candidate…

I wasn't able to inform you about it at all, because then you might cast some spell on you on purpose and as a result, we wouldn't be able to do successfully the testing; you had to know nothing about all this. That's why I called you the other day in my office, with the excuse that I needed your help on something- actually I called you so I could start with the experiment. You were total oblivious of the fact, and when you didn't look, I cast you a slumbering spell, so we would be able to start the testing.

For almost ten months, you were totally unconscious, like you were in a comma; we provided you potions on a daily basis; after that, the most difficult part was to find suitable, fake memories and then insert them in your brain, so we could see your reaction to them. Then I thought that the most important part of your life was Hermione, and I knew that you wouldn't ever dare to hurt her someway, so we thought of all these memories, of all the illusory reality you've been living for ten months, in search of your response to them. That means that all these things that were happening in your 'life', weren't in fact true."

Ron stayed still shocked from all this information, which seemed too… out of this world. He suddenly wasn't sure if he should believe the other man, despite his so remorseful expression.

"What do you mean by saying '_all these things_'?" he asked impassively, not daring to show any of his perplexing emotions. Alfred seemed quite uneasy, but he still answered.

"You never cheated on Hermione; Sonia was an imaginary person. There wasn't any meeting at my place- no pain, no beating or abusing or drinking. Your relationship with your wife was never so cold and distant- as much as I know, at least- and you never tried to kill yourself. After that, you never lost your child and never Hermione wanted to divorce you; all these were false, inserted memories, just to see what you were going to do further, until, of course, when you made your second suicidal attempt, when we stopped to give you the potions and cast the spells on you, and we waited for you to wake up- surely, your response was immediate." Alfred said seriously, yet sadly at his friend. Ron still didn't know if he should believe him.

"I- I don't understand, Alfred… I mean, this is ridiculous! I know that I cheated on Hermione; I don't want to remember it, but I did it!" he exclaimed and looked at the man before him piercingly, as the shock was still rushing in his lively veins. Alfred looked at him apologetically again.

"I understand that it's incredibly difficult for you right now, but I tell you that you never cheated on Hermione with that Sonia girl- she's non-existent!" Alfred explained seriously and then smiled a small, reassuring, regretful smile. Ron set aside his ever-so-slowly-disappearing confusion (even though nothing still made much sense to him) and let his mind to fill with slight anger and annoyance.

"Why, Alfred? Why did you do this to me? - no… you hadn't the right to do this to _anyone…_" he said lowly and expressionlessly, and that caused the other healer to become sickly white and look at his lap shamefully and quite painfully.

"I'm so sorry, Ron, but the project was so interesting- I hadn't thought of the cost well, as it seems…"

"No, you hadn't; you hadn't thought even for a second about _my_ life, _my _family… What would—" he started crying out, but he stopped abruptly without finishing his sentence, as his thoughts went for the first to the one person that his mind always was- _Hermione_. He right away forgot about anything else, as his mind was begging to learn for her, as well as he was.

"Hermione! How's Hermione? Is she okay? Does she think that I dump her? Where is she?" he asked as many questions as his breath was letting him to with his urgent voice. Alfred raised his arm a bit and shook his open palm reassuringly.

"Don't panic, Ron, Hermione's perfectly fine and of course does not think you left her or something similar- she knows what's happening." Alfred clarified calmly and that made Ron feeling a bit more relieved through all this vast bewilderment; at the same time, more queries were made into his head.

"You mean that she knew all along?" he asked confused now. Alfred exhaled soundly before responding.

"I had to tell her about the research, because I needed permission. Well, it was really hard to persuade her, she was so scared and doubtful and afraid, but then she accepted; she had thought that you'd be grateful to do such a thing for the science you so much love and serve."

"And that- that was all?" Ron asked totally lost. "She never came here, she never yelled at you or at someone else?" Alfred laughed lightly for a second before answering.

"Of course she did all these; she was coming here almost every day, and she was crying for over half a month. As for the last one, I'm rather sure she hasn't forgiven me yet, but it's not like I don't deserve that one." the older man said with a feeble attempt to joke at the end that wasn't rather successful- the redhead had his mind elsewhere at the moment.

"And where is she now?" he asked again, more childishly-like this time.

"She lives at your house, like always, along with…" the healer stopped suddenly his sentence and looked at the patient with slight agony and consideration- consideration about the fact whether he should tell his friend about something, whether or not he should have started this phrase at all. Ron started to feel that not-so-good news were about to be revealed…

"Along with who?" Ron asked cautiously, even though his voice hid his surely upcoming hurt deep down.

"I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you this, Ron." Alfred said rather weakly, but the red-haired wouldn't hear more of this- he wanted some plain answers to his even more uncomplicated questions.

"Tell me the name, Alfred." he demanded with his low voice; the older man gulped once and inhaled a big lungful of air before parting his lips and saying the one word:

"_Rose._"

Ron stayed still, with his wide eyes gluing on the man on the chair before him, as his brain cells were trying to process on this new information. _Rose_… He didn't know anyone with that name, as far as he could remember… Maybe she was some family member of Hermione's? A cousin or an aunt? His mind, for some reason, insisted on saying to him that it had to be something- someone much more important than that.

"Who's that Rose?" he asked quite stupidly, but his unused for many time, mind wasn't able to reconsider such a piece of information- it had received so many that it was so difficult to comprehend what was going on.

"Look, Hermione will be probably here in a couple of hours at most; I think it would be wiser to let her tell you about this by herself, ok? Just wait a little." Alfred said finally and stood up.

"Then can I ask you something?" the redhead asked then, more unsurely than before.

"Sure, tell me." The other healer said as he was checking on the devices once again.

"Does… Does Hermione… love me?" Ron finally asked, after a couple of moments of swallowing and deep-breathing and reconsideration; the older man smiled rather brightly.

"There's no need to actually ask, Ron; as far as I'm concerned, she'd never stopped and she never will."

Ron felt a wave of warmth to encircle him gracefully, as the older man's words were still echoing in his ears like a lovely, sweet whisper, like a beautiful secret that two lovers need to share; but his love for her wasn't a secret, not at all, and according to his colleague, she felt the same, she _still_ felt the same. She never hated him; she never thought her life without him… right? All the new things he learnt in only some minutes were huge, so his head had difficulties as to fully grasp them yet- if they were, _in point of fact,_ true…

His numerous of thoughts were cut then, as the lying figure noticed that the other man in the room was coming near him once again, but this time with a bottle full of an olive-coloured potion. Ron looked at it with narrow eyes before he looked back at the healer before him.

"Is that… a calming potion, right?" When he saw Alfred nodding with a small beam on his face, he continued more surely: "Because, for a moment I thought that you're going to give me another sleeping potion, which obviously I wouldn't need, as I've been sleeping for almost a year, Alfred." Alfred half-laughed gently and then he took the other's head from the back, so it could hold it higher. As a reaction, Ron bended his long arms and tried to support the weight of his upper body on there, so it would be easier for him to drink the potion, but instantly, Alfred gently pushed him back.

"You're not able to half-lay or support your body on your elbows, Ron; your muscles and bones are extremely weak from the disuse, and we must practice them once again, but in a slow process." Alfred explained gently, and once again he kindly held the other's head higher than the rest of his body. Ron slowly opened his jaw widely and waited for the liquid to cool the inner surface of his throat. The healer slowly put the bottle on the red-haired's bottom lip, letting the potion to slowly enter into the system of his; then, with his thumb, he started to softly rub the patient's throat, so the liquid would course down the esophagus easier. When the medicine was all gone from the bottle, he gently put Ron's head back to the pillow. Ron felt the effects of the tonic at once, as he closed his eyes for a couple of moments, actually feeling a bit weary from the mere movement of his neck. He heard to the device next to him one more time- the '_beeps_' gradually slowed down and became more peaceful, just like he felt… _peaceful_... He thought it was a bit of irony, to finally feel the rest he so much wanted only with the help of a good potion…

He stayed at his bed still, looking around the room observantly and asking Alfred various things- and mostly about if all these were _truly _a reality-, while the latter was continuously checking on his condition from all the monitors in the room that were connected with him (Ron actually felt like he was one of those robot-things Muggles had invented). An hour or so must have passed like this, until a soft knocking got their attention.

"Come in." Alfred said gently and they saw a young woman Healer to half-enter the room, looking at Ron first for a single second before casting her look on the other healer.

"Healer Green, there is someone that wants to see you; it's about this case." the woman said once again and cast another look at the redhead before looking down shyly, as a rosy colour appeared on her cheeks; Ron was curious for a moment as to what happened to the young woman. He looked back at his colleague and saw him somewhat more… enthusiastic? He couldn't identify the expression on his face perfectly.

"Oh, I see. Ron, could you wait for a moment, please? I'll be right back in a minute." The older one said immediately and when Ron nodded merely, he exited the room rather hurriedly, along with the shy woman. He looked at the room around him slightly boringly, already memorizing it more or less perfectly, and then at the many cables that were contacted with his naked, only half-covered by a plain, white sheet, lean, yet rather muscular, body; he swiftly felt much weaker than he was, in fact, just because of the sight of the numerous cables- he felt like his life was totally depended by them.

His thoughts were once again interrupted, as he heard the door opening gently, followed by the light sound of steps. He didn't turn his head towards the source of the sound as he was gazing uninterestingly at the ceiling.

"When will I be able to get rid of all these cables, Alfred? I'm sick of them; I actually feel like a drug-addict that thought of a sick way to take huge doses of heroine, however bad or hideous that seems…" he heard himself saying without much thought. A second later, he listened to a gentle, deep snigger from who must have been Alfred, and then a small, almost impossible to hear, sob; that got Ron curious- who would sob at his words, however cruel or disgusting they were? He turned his head towards the door now, unable to hold on his tiny nosiness anymore and looked searchingly towards there.

His eyes became double their size as they widened unconsciously from the sight he witnessed with his weary eyes; Alfred had entered along with someone else, that wasn't the shy Healer that was there just minutes ago; no, it was another woman, a woman he so much wanted to even glance at before he waste his last breath, before he voluntarily give his life to Death…

It was his unique angel… _It was Hermione._

His heart started to pound in his chest so exceedingly fast that it most surely would stop beating in a course of mere minutes; his lungs forgot how to function properly and his pulse was in such a hurry, that it was like an exceptionally fast rhythm of a drum; the only part of his that seemed unaffected by the appearance of hers was his eyes, which faithfully glued on her beautiful, petite form.

She seemed very emotional as she kept sobbing softly, but without actually crying, as her own, amazing eyes were cast on him, while her hands were covering her mouth, probably from the touching feelings that engulfed her exactly the way they were overwhelming him.

"Oh, Ron!" he heard her high-pitched, but still melodic voice, as she took the few steps required for them to be next to each other; Hermione instantly sat on the small, empty space at the edge of his bed and grabbed gently his hand, her chocolate eyes never leaving his face. The extraordinary warmth that encircled his skin elegantly and then spread to his soul and heart felt so mistakenly real and he felt suddenly sad, like he didn't deserve all these; he slowly lowered his eyes and looked at the bed under him shamefully.

"Ron dear" he heard her perfect voice lingering in his ears a couple of seconds later, "why don't you look me in the eye? What's wrong?" she asked gently, yet still worriedly.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Ron said regretfully, not looking her in the eyes just yet. "I shouldn't have done all those indescribable things to you; I'm a horrible person and I cannot understand why you are still so good to me…"

"Ron, please look at me and listen to what I have to say to you, alright, baby?" she said calmly, like she was speaking to a little boy. It took him a couple of minutes to do what he was said to, but then looked into her eyes unsurely. "You have _never _done a thing from all these they put in your head, sweetheart; you _never_ cheated on me and I _never _wanted to live without you; I love you so remarkably much to bear to live without you…" she whispered with passion and cupped his cheek with her unoccupied palm tenderly. The man half-closed his eyes for a few seconds, rubbing slowly his cheek on her hand and then staring again at her bright eyes.

"R-Really?" he asked childishly and that caused to his wife to giggle softly before nodding gently to him; an enormous wave of new-found relief surrounded him differently- _well _differently. "I love you, too, Hermione…" he said then, wanting so terribly much to say these precious words and getting the wanted response this time- she smiled widely and beamishly, like it was supposed to be. He felt a weird, but so welcome feeling of completion inside him.

"I know, my love, I know… There is actually nothing to prove to me…" she said reassuringly and squeezed his hand with hers lovingly; as a result, his heart yelped with pure joy. "How do you feel, love?" she asked gently. He felt still a bit numb by the way she was talking with him after a long time he was used to her 'icy behaviour', but he still replied to her.

"Fine now; you're here…" he said lowly and a bit unsurely, but he received a beautiful smile and that made him feel a bit surer.

"I know what you mean- I missed you terribly all these months…" Hermione said lovingly and caressed the skin of his thin wrist with her thumb, producing goose-bumps on the process. Ron suddenly remembered something that Alfred had told him some hour ago.

"And… what about… Rose? Alfred said to me that you live in our house with her… Who is she?" he asked rather shyly and he felt his cheeks became a bit warmer, but he kept looking at her, and he saw a hint of nervousness or something similar on her face.

"You… You aren't able to remember, are you?" she asked uncertainly and when she saw the puzzled look that perfectly mirrored the way he felt at the moment, she went on: "Well… when they started on their research we… actually I was… I was pregnant with our child, Ron…"

Ron felt like a bludger had hit him on the head, as her words were still echoing in his disbelieving ears- '_pregnant_'…

"You- You said that… you were… pr-pregnant?" he asked complete unsurely, still not sure for his hearing's good condition.

"Yes, Ron, I was pregnant…" she said slowly and smoothly and smiled kindly at him- he shivered, but in a good way. He was still so confused and lost in all this bombarding of information.

"But… but that was a- a fake memory… right?" he asked with his voice full of puzzlement.

"Healers used my current condition in a way, so they could make some of their false memories to insert in your brain; but I was in fact, pregnant." She explained patiently, her almond-shaped eyes never leaving from their sight his pale face.

"But now… now you are not?" he asked naively with his childish tone and instinctively, his pupils rested for a mere second on her abdomen, seeing it flat like he foggily remembered it. He heard then her light laughter and that caused to his eyes to loyally return to her face.

"Of course not, Ron!" she exclaimed delightfully, making her eyes to shine more. "I was eight months pregnant when you firstly were in comma; Rose is our little daughter, sweetheart…"

Ron's heartbeat started to increase crazily, as he looked at his breathtaking wife with quite wide eyes; it seemed too hard to believe, it seemed too good to be actually true…

_A daughter… Little Rose…_

"Breathe, dear- I don't want to lose you now when I have you back…" she joked a bit and the redhead followed her advice straightaway; a big gulp of air entered him and filled his thirsty lungs thankfully. He suddenly felt a flash in his head and he unsurely looked at his spouse, thinking if his brain was right this time.

"I kind of remember something, but I'm not sure if it's a false or a true memory…"

"Tell me and I'll tell you if it's a proper one or not, ok?" she answered kindly on an instant. He nodded and tried to remember as much as possible.

"You had a little, cute bulge" he started softly, and the fingers of his right hand brushed her belly for a moment, seeing with his mind's eyes the once existent swell, before continuing: "You must have been four-five months pregnant… And it was probably Sunday, we were at the Burrow and… and we were doing some… some naughty things in my old room…" he finally said and looked at Hermione with anticipation, wanting to know if that was actually true. Hermione's cheeks had then a rosy tint on them and she smiled a bit slyly at him.

"I can't believe that from _all _the things you could remember, you remembered this one!" she exclaimed with mock irritation, yet a beautiful beam appeared on her pink lips. Ron felt really light at the moment and felt the muscles of his face to pull up slightly, as a smile appeared on his own face, as well.

"I suppose I haven't changed much, then; besides it's a very vivid memory…" he said with his voice more care-free, all of the sudden, but he liked it his way.

Hermione's smile widened more, making her even more beautiful, if that was even possible. "You're right love- it was a very fine day… and night…" she said with a light laughter and then she leaned and kissed his forehead softly; Ron felt like the spot was on fire, as it probably was his blood inside his veins. He looked in her so sparkling eyes and felt the utter peace his false self desired for so long.

"I love you, Mione." he whispered without a hint of doubt or hesitation; he instantly noticed her eyes to shine with an identical feeling that reached his heart in a wonderful way.

"I love you too, baby." Hermione whispered with emotion in her voice and finally leaning her head down to his, making the valuable contact of the lips a so tangible reality, another _real_, worthy, inerasable memory of theirs. They kissed slowly and tenderly, savouring the flawless taste of each other's once again in a small, so-much-promising kiss that neither of them wanted it to end, because it was vital, yet lethal in a way- it could kill you in a course of some minutes from its sweetness, from its charm-; because it was so new, yet old like the Earth, even classic in a way; it was simply a so complicated, yet so plain, perfection…

She pulled away a minute later, but staying with her face a couple of centimeters higher from his, looking at each other with half-closed eyes and slightly swollen lips. Ron looked at her captivating eyes, his mind a bit numb and still thinking about the magic a simple contact let be released.

"I missed that…" he whispered softly and with a bit of difficulty, he raised a bit his right arm and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, reminiscing the sensation of her so smooth skin in contact with his own; Hermione laughed lightly for half a second.

"Don't tell me about it…" she whispered back, probably thinking about the nearly one year without him- most probably a living hell, a constant torture.

"I won't leave you ever again…" he promised her with a trace of passion in his voice.

"I won't ever let anyone take you away from me…" she promised back and they sealed it with another kiss, which lasted only for a couple of seconds. Ron unwillingly took his thirsty lips away from hers, producing during the process the small, quite muffled sound of the departure of their contacted lips. He looked at her for a short moment while he was licking his lips in search for remnants of her ideal taste and then another thought occurred to him.

"Where is Rose?" he asked softly, suddenly wanting to know about her, to see her, if that was possible.

"She's with Sarah- do you remember Sarah, love?" Hermione asked gently and when he nodded as a response, she continued: "Sarah instantly loved her, as well as Rose, and I left her to her for now- I thought it'd be too much for you to see me _and _Rose at the same moment." she explained finally and looked at him for a small moment before speaking again: "Do you want to see her?"

"Yes" Ron said without thinking, but he knew that that was what he wanted to do- to see, a bit belatedly of course, his daughter for the first time. Hermione smiled a little and then stood up- Ron then noticed for the first time that they were alone in the room, and Alfred was long gone- even though he had totally forgot about him while he was with his Mione.

"I'm going to bring her then." his wife said rather happily and started to head towards the door, a motion that instantly got the man anxious.

"No!" he exclaimed and as a result, Hermione stopped dead on her track. "Don't go!"

"But why not? We've just said that you want to see Rose." She said confusingly and knitted her eyebrows a bit, showing clearly her puzzlement.

"I just don't want to be alone…" he said quite embarrassingly; in a tick, Hermione was by his side and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Oh, but love, I'll only leave for a minute and I'll be right back, so don't worry, ok?" she said with assurance in her peaceful voice, but the word '_leave_' instantly got him worried.

"No, please, just don't leave me…" he pleaded anxiously and grasped back her hand. She shook her head gently.

"Ssh, don't worry at all, baby; didn't I promise you that I don't ever let anyone to take you away from me- I included myself, as well, Ron." She said softly and kissed his warm cheek; he felt only a bit relieved by her words.

"Just hurry, ok?" he whispered as he saw her heading once again towards the door. She threw him a beamish smile before disappearing behind the door.

Ron instantly started to count the seconds, the feeling of being without her near him was now unbearable, as he felt so useless. His heart was kicking his ribs as a protest and he could clearly hear the thumping of his rather crazy pulse at his ears… _Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three_…

He must have reached two hundred and eighty-six when he heard the door opening once again, and he straightaway turned his neck and head towards there, yearning so badly for the sight of Hermione and their daughter- he needed to remember how to breathe before he faint…

The most beautiful sight almost got him permanently blind, as Hermione was holding in her arms a little baby in a small, yellow, cotton dress. Hermione was smiling brightly as she was approaching him.

"This is little Rose, Ron; Rose, this is Daddy and he's awake this time- do you want to hug Daddy?" the woman said sweetly and sat again on the tiny, empty space on the bed; she looked at him, but he observed it some seconds later- this time, he eyes couldn't leave from their sight the little girl.

"Do you want to hold her?" Hermione asked him gently, but Ron was only able to nod once- his mind was only able to think about the baby girl. Hermione carefully gave him the baby, who was looking curiously at his face now, until he protectively held her in his long, numb arms. His eyes shined with pure love for the little girl he was looking at for the first time, as he started to examine her cute physiognomy.

She had a cute, little head, with a cute little nose and small, dark pink lips; her cheeks were like little peaches, while her eyes were… were almost identical to his own, azure-coloured irises and an enormous, nearly round size, like Greek coins. As for her, still short hair, Ron noticed with small delight that the perfect curls, similar to Mione's, had a gold-red colour, alike his own one. She was a little baby-angel, his second love, his second, little world, another huge reason to live.

"Hello, Rosie" he whispered softly with his deep voice, and he hesitantly brushed his fingertips on her so flawlessly soft cheek, and then to her beautiful, similarly soft, short curls. "I'm Daddy and I already love, you, cutie- you're my little witch…"

He ever so slowly brought his lips near the baby and kissed with all the love existent in the universe, her little forehead; with pure delight, the melodic, angelic sound of her happy giggle reached his ears and tickled his eardrums like a smooth feather. He looked down at the baby girl in his arms, and the shiny set of cobalt eyes was staring back at him with joy, and Rose stretched her arm, her open, minute hand trying to reach his face and finally touching somewhat searchingly and victoriously his full, red lips-as a response, he kissed the minute fingertips, receiving from this another melodic sound of her perfect, so joyful and innocent laughter; the completion full him in a so different, so new, but at the same time, so desirable and balmy way… He was sure that he now knew the true meaning of utter bliss and love, because he now could feel it…

…

Two weeks passed pretty fast at the hospital for Ron, as he had to stay a bit longer for mental and body tests and checks, before taking finally the so wanted discharge. In the time, he was glad to have the daily visits of Hermione and his new love, little Rose, who immediately adored him and cried every time she had to leave when the visit drew close to its end. But Ron thought now that all these things wouldn't exist any longer, as he would be back to their home and they would be the happy family they deserved to be after such a long time.

Hermione was supposed to come and take him from 'St. Mungo's', as, because of the uselessness of the muscles for many months, he wasn't still able to walk and he had to sit on a wheelchair for some time before starting to walk once again. He was in his room, with Alfred checking on him one last time and telling him for the billionth time which potion should take when. Ron was patiently listening to him, while he was waiting with anticipation for his Mione to come and take him to their home, to see his little baby girl again, to lull her softly and then talk affectionately with Hermione until they fell asleep in each other's arms…

He finally heard the so wanted knocking on the door, and half a second later, Hermione was in his visibility range, making him feel more energetic, even though he would barely move. He smiled secretly at her behind Alfred's back, and she did the same, with the addition of a blown kiss- his smile widened unconsciously.

"Hi Alfred, how are you?" Hermione asked kindly to the older man, but her eyes almost immediately were cast back on Ron.

"Oh, hi Hermione, I'm fine thank you. I see you couldn't wait any longer…" he teased lightly and Hermione laughed for a second before going and sitting on the empty space Ron provided on his bed, as he shifted a bit from his half-laying, half-sitting position. He right away took her hand in his and pecked the corner of her lips lovingly.

"How are you?" he asked almost inaudibly while he was staring at her dark brown eyes. She smiled up to him adoringly.

"Fine- and you? How are you feeling?" she feather-whispered and travelled her index finger all the way from his right shoulder to his wrist, leaving goose-bumps on its path; Ron had to breathe deeply before answering.

"A bit useless, but otherwise great- especially now…" he whispered the last part almost inaudibly in her ear and then kissed lightly her earlobe, which made her to giggle lightly for a second; they felt like the couple of adolescents they used to be.

"Hermione, do you mind standing up for a moment? I need to transfer Ron to the wheelchair." Alfred said a moment later, and Hermione stood immediately, her eyes never leaving his identical stare. Alfred made Ron stand and then put him gently sitting on the black wheelchair; the red-haired shifted a bit so he could feel a bit more comfortable and then he looked at his colleague for a moment.

"Thanks, Alfred- for the mending, I mean…" he said and the other man nodded knowingly.

"Yeah, I know, my friend." he answered and then looked at the couple before smiling widely. "I let you of course at a more efficient healer; just rest, Ron." He finally said and all said their goodbyes before Ron, with the help of Hermione, started to head towards the corridor, and after that, towards the fireplace at the ground floor. Hermione threw the powder in it, and after saying clearly their destination, she gently pushed the wheelchair with her, entering the fireplace. Only seconds later, they were surrounded by the balmy atmosphere of their living room, of their warm, welcoming house. He sighed with happiness and with other, light emotions that were rooted in his joyful heart, as he let his eyes to wander around the almost forgettable room, trying to memorize it once again. Hermione stopped pushing the wheelchair and let it near the doorframe that headed to the hall; Ron sighed again and Hermione kneeled in front of him, looking at his eyes expectantly.

"So, how do you feel?" she asked him with the constant smile still on her angelic lips. Ron smiled more widely at her before replying.

"Perfect… no, it's not perfect…" he said with a skeptical tone in his deep voice; Hermione instantly got a worried expression on her face.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked rather anxiously; Ron felt suddenly the need to laugh merrily, but he swallowed his spontaneous want immediately.

"Well, it's just…" he started, pretending to be in deliberation about it, "It's so much more than _just perfect_…" he ended and his words caused to his wife to sob with delight and trying to not shed the few tears that had drown her beautiful eyes. He laughed for a mere moment and then leaned down and made his lips to meet her own ones, in a sweet, amoral kiss.

"Where is Rosie?" he asked after pulling away some seconds later, cupping her cheek affectionately.

"She's at Harry and Ginny's, she'll stay there for the night and they would bring her tomorrow; besides, they want to see you after such a long time." Hermione answered and then stood up. "I'm going to make some tea; can you wait for a minute?" she said and started to go towards the kitchen.

"Mione?" he said suddenly, not long after she made a couple of steps. She turned around and looked at him curiously, but the shine that underlined her love never vanishing.

"What is it, love?" she asked kindly and went in front of his sitting form again; the redhead looked at her with slightly puppy-dog eyes.

"Can you do me a little favour?" he asked with his low voice that made Hermione to smile beamishly.

"What is it, Ronnie dear?" she asked sweetly and Ron looked at her a bit surprised, as another wave of balm embraced him gracefully, and his ears still lingered on her last two words.

"What did you say me?" he said with rising, quite childish hope apparent in his voice; Hermione thought about it for half a second and then smiled adoringly.

"What do you mean? The '_Ronnie dear_' thing?" she said with her melodic voice somewhat playfully and she leaned down to him a little- Ron's breath caught a bit.

"Say it again." He demanded softly and he saw his spouse to lean even closer to him.

"I love you, Ronnie dear…" she whispered rather passionately and now her head was only a few centimeters away from his, her chestnut curls became a curtain around them. Ron stared at her eyes like being hypnotized by them.

"I love you too, my sweetie…" he whispered back and then closed the short distance between them, kissing her slowly, yet a bit passionately as well. She kissed him back instantly, in a way similar to his, showing to each other the undying, powerful, lasting flame there was inside them- the perfect, so wanted flame that was called _love_…

They pulled away two minutes later, temporary quenching their permanent thirst for each other, and they stared into each other's eyes- the navy blue met the chocolate brown and bonded in an amazing, still indescribable way…

"Is that all you wanted? To seduce me?" Hermione asked with her flirtatious tone as the depths of her eyes were shining brilliantly. Ron, even though lost in the perfect sight before his lucky eyes, he giggled like a teenage boy.

"It was a good thing, but no; I actually wanted to ask you if you could do me a little favour…" he said slowly with his deep, smooth voice.

"Tell me, love, what is it?" she asked him gently and smiled down to him compassionately.

"Can you bring me a sweater? I feel rather cold…" he finally said shyly and let a small smile to be worn on his full lips. Hermione laughed heartedly for a short moment and straightened her back.

"Of course, Ronnie dear, there's no need to ask." she said and cast him one more loving look before disappearing from his visibility range. He sighed lightly and closed his eyes gleefully, letting himself to fill with the warmness and the love of the moment.

He was finally home, in a place that was welcoming and full of happy, incredible memories. This was a place promising far too many good things for the future, as it was full of love and warmth, and it would never lack of them. He felt blessed, as he knew that he most probably wouldn't feel happier or unsatisfied.

And finally, the word 'completion' gained its true, full, precious meaning. And Ron Weasley sighed blissfully once again.

~o~

* * *

_-Wow... the end...! I feel so emotional (...snif, snif...)- I just cannot believe that this is the end of this story, which I hope you all liked and enjoyed. After that, I'm working on some other stories, but probably I won't start uploading just now- flawed internet service, starting of the school term etc, etc, etc..._

_-I still want to know your opinion with your so-much-appreciated REVIEWS! I want to know how you find this last chapter and actually which possible endind you liked better..._

_-I'd like to thank you all once again for your support and your positiveness towards the story- you are the best!!! I'll try to keep in touch with this site and I hope I'll 'see' you soon. Until then, my pals... :D Kisses! xxx_


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